Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-02-29
I said, THAT'S put blue"
IL. l.


Ben's mask, saying. Give him hundred
per cent oxygen He'll come out Of 1t in
minute"
ANYHOW. we didn't have no trouble after
that; they took us up to thirty-f1ye thousand
feet and we didn't have no aches, and then
we come back down and Ben took of his
mask with his hair sticking up every which
way and lines on his face where the mask
had been, and we got up ready to go. He
said. well, / guess we done all right, VIII.
Now all we got to pass is the eye test and
we're through for good"
But about that time, this fellow stuck
his head in and said. You two fellows come
on in here. The Lieutenant will want to see
YOU. Didn't you hear the lecture this morn
ing?"
Didn't we pass?" Ben said, his eyes
getting wide.
you mighty near passed out" the fellow
said. Then he thought about it, and laughed
and said, Yeah you mighty near passed out,
that's what you did!" Then he chuckled
little more over 1t and told 1t couple OF
more times, but Ben just stood there with
his face kind of pale, and didn't smile. so
the fellow didn't tell it no more; he said, We'll
come on I'll see If the Lieutenant has any
thing to say to you about it."
The Man Was Colored
So he took us down the hall and told us
to sit outside while he went in to see the
Lieutenant. Ben set there all hunched over
with worry and was getting that way my
self because it looked like we had failed
for sure, but about that time I happened
to glance in the Office We were setting out
side of and seen that the Lieutenant this
fellow wanted us to talk to was colored.
which was the most surprising thing because
l hadn't seen many colored men since we
left home. I turned to Ben and whispered,
Ben, theys a colored fela in there!" but
Ben only looked hard at me. and about
that time the fellow come out and said that
the Lieutenant would see us now.
So We went in. and I mean it was one
of the most surprising things / ever seen.
He was the doggieSt Colored fella / bet
there ever was, setting there at that desk
in his Lieutenants uniform We come in and
Ben he popped to and give him big salute,
but was looking so hard, I guess / forgot
all about it. And then this colored fella
said right out, Didn't you fellows under
stand what the Captain said about what
lack of oxygen will do for you at twenty
thousand feet?" and didn't even sound like
he was colored the way he talked. / don't
guess had ever seen anything like 1t before.
But Ben snapped out. "YeSsir 1t was
mistake. sir" and he said Well be more
careful in the future. You passed it all right.
I just wanted to warn you" And then Ben
popped him another big salute and twisted on
his heel and started out the door, and then
reached back and snatched me by the arm
to get me going because just stood there for
minute. mean it's kind of a shock to q
man to have a colored man set there and
start talking and not even sound like a COL
ored man. SO when we got outside wanted
to go back. In and talk with him little bit
as I hadn't seen no colored people much
10 hat 7
right interested in how he got that way. /
wanted to chat with him bit because he sho
seemed nice and was just as friendly as he
could be- and there amt nobody any friendlier
than friendly colored man. so I wanted to
go back in but Ben kept pulling at me by the
arm. and then he lit into me all of sudden.
He said, Whats the matter with you. Didn't
you see he was an officer?" which was a sur
prise to me because expected Ben would be
right happy about having passed and not be
mad about anything
I said, "Sho Ben, and I bet he Is O
mighty good one too. friendly that way
and :.
But Ben busted in on me again, and lit
into me about not standing at attention and
not saluting and all. which had Just forgot
about. So tried to explain it to him: said,
i didn't mean no offense by 1t. 1t was Just
that I hadn't seen a colored fella in long
Don't call him colored," Ben said. Hes
an off1cer Didn't you see that?"
"Sho. Ben. seen that: but Just didn't
think about it, guess. because he was colored
and hadn't seen no colored folks for while
and 1t made me kind of homesick and :. ;"
"Quit Saying Colored"
But then Ben yelled out. Quit saying
colored 1t don't make any difference about
color He's an officer, and being an officer,
he's just as white as you and me. and you're
supposed to stand at attention. and you're
supposed to salutel" He got real upset about
1t. it looked like: and couldn't make 1t out.
His face got red, and when he talked. he
waved his hands around and his eyes got big
and all like that, and I couldn't flgger 1t for
a while. If I hadn't of knowed Ben were
right smart in the ways of the Air Force I
would have thought he didn't have good sense
or something He said all kinds of foolish
things the more upset he got but I acted like
didn't notice it. didn't want to argue or
nothing. But when he said that the fellow
was gust as white as was when he was in
uniform, it didn't make much sense to me
at all, SO I said, HE was colored really,
though. warnt he. Benz"
He was an officer! Ben yelled.
yeah, that's what mean. Ben. He was
colored man what got to be an officer"
which seemed to straighten the whole thing
out.
But Ben shouted, well, that amt what
mean! What mean is that when mans
in uniform. or any other place for that mat
ter. but especially in a uniform. he amt
black or white or yellow, or nothing else.
You don't notice the color Of man in uni
form"
You didn't really, Ben Why, he sho
looked to me :"
NO" Ben yelled Cant you understand
anything?"
You mean you couldn't tell he was a
different color from us?"
moi"
So ! puzzled over 1t bit but still I
couldn't make no sense out of 1t; I said
Dang it. Ben, amt never heered anything
to beat it, Time I seen him. I knowed he
was colored."
He wouldn't talk about 1t no more
though: Ben had his own ideas and he was
Lad ~ Ill