The American Dream in Army Green

Retired Sgt. Maj. Albert Brunson has known the racism of "Jim Crow." He can recall the South Carolina of his birth and childhood, where buildings had separate entrances for "Coloreds" and "Whites."

But in 1965 Brunson, by then in Pennsylvania, found a life and culture that was as close to the society Martin Luther King envisioned -- where people would be judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin -- as then existed.

What he found -- more accurately, what found him -- was the Army, which 60 years ago this month became fully integrated. Brunson, barely older than the 1948 executive order that banished segregation in the military, was scooped up the Vietnam-era draft but dropped into a still emerging Army meritocracy. In the service he found success, a career, and a vision that has since been shared by his family -- including three sons and two daughters-in-law who now also wear Army green.

"The Army probably was at the forefront of desegregation," the retired sergeant major said during an interview with military bloggers July 25.

"I can recall being at Fort Bragg as a young paratrooper in 1965, and the voting rights act was passed in 1964, but … there were clubs in the city of Fayetteville (North Carolina) where I live now that you could not go in as a black person."

Integration, Brunson said, "has been a great thing for the military. Integration allowed everyone an equal chair at the table."

Today, the Brunson family members at that table include son Xavier and his wife, Kirsten, both lieutenant colonels; son LaHavie and his wife, Miryam, a major and captain, respectively; and son Tavi, a major. All told, the Brunsons have 100 years of Army service, including deployments to Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Italy, Kuwait, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Macedonia, Belgium, Japan, Guam, Spain and England. They've also chalked up about 600 parachute jumps in all, eight Bronze Stars, 16 Meritorious Service Medals, 19 Army Commendations, 16 Army Achievement Medals, and numerous other awards, decorations, commendations and badges, Army officials say.

"The reason I served is because my father served," said Xavier Brunson, the eldest son and an 82nd Airborne battalion commander at Fort Bragg. "It always just seemed like the most honorable profession out there. ... All I ever wanted to do was be a Soldier and serve this great nation."

Younger brothers LaHavie and Tavi felt the same way, they said, growing up watching their dad and then older brother "jumping out of airplanes."

"I think (joining) was all the better for Tavi and I because we had the opportunity to spend our first few years in the Army at Fort Bragg and live near our parents," said Maj. Lahavie Brunson, who called into the meeting from Iraq, where he is a quartermaster officer with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "And just recently all of us had the opportunity to be stationed at Fort Bragg, so it just makes it all the better and we're blessed with the opportunity, on top of the great deal it is to serve in the United States Army."

Kirsten Brunson took the Army path while in college, after seeing the old "Be All That You Can Be" television commercial -- the one that told viewers the Army would have them doing more before 9 a.m. than most people would do in an entire day.

She ended up in ROTC and her Army life began.

"I was still able to pursue my dream of becoming a lawyer in the Army," she said. In fact, she has been selected to serve as a circuit court judge -- the first African-American woman in the Army to hold the position, Army officials claim.

"Opportunities in this country have changed for all groups since the '60s and the Civil Rights movement," Kirsten said. "I believe the Army is still a wonderful opportunity and a place to get a leg up for a number of groups. And not just minorities."

For low-income citizens, those from rural areas where jobs are few or cities where people may not be satisfied by the local industries, she said, "the military in general offers a number of opportunities."

Says Xavier: "If you got into a time machine and traveled back 60 to 61 years and then came forward to see our family serving here right now, you'd be amazed at how much progress we've made, not just as a nation but as an Army."

The 60-year time warp would move from the days of all-black units lead by white officers to today, with integration across the board and command held by racially diverse officers, he said.

Throughout his own experience, he said, growing up in the Army and then serving in it, he found a place where racism was not a factor.

"Because it is very much a meritocracy, based on the work you do, the way you carry yourself, in the way that you soldier, it leads to all manner of rewards to opportunities," Xavier said. "Right now I'm a battalion commander in the 82nd Airborne Division -- things unheard of when my father first came to this division [in the 1960s]."