MILWAUKEE — Booker Townsell rarely spoke about his time in the Army or his wrongful conviction in one of the largest courts-martial of World War II.
But his past took center stage Saturday as the late Townsell received military honors and a salute at his grave site. His family finally received the U.S. flag that was denied at his burial more than 20 years ago.
The ceremony and reception that followed attracted hundreds of people, including local and state dignitaries, a representative from the U.S. Army and a lawmaker who helped restore Townsell’s name.
Townsell was one of 43 black soldiers court-martialed after an Italian prisoner was found lynched following a night of rioting at Fort Lawton in Seattle in 1944. The military court found 28 soldiers guilty of rioting over alleged resentment of Italian prisoners’ freedom of movement off-base and the hospitality that residents gave them compared with the racism the black soldiers were forced to endure.
Some soldiers were sentenced to as many as 25 years in prison.
Townsell served two.
“It was just an incident that happened to him, and he desperately wanted to move on with his life,” said Lashell Drake, Townsell’s granddaughter.
Townsell came home to Milwaukee after serving his sentence, worked in a factory for 25 years, ran a lounge with his brother and raised four children. He loved his family, worked hard, was patriotic and active in the community, especially in getting people to vote, Drake said.
He never discussed his military past to the day he died in 1984 at age 69.
“He was truly a man of honor, and so when we found out about what happened to his name, it was something that we wanted to do,” Drake said. “We wanted to restore his name because we always knew him as honorable. So, this dishonorable discharge had to be changed to honorable as far as we were concerned.”
The family searched for Townsell’s name online and found a reference to him in a 2005 book about the incident, “On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of World War II.”
The family then contacted the author, Jack Hamann, a former television news reporter.
With the help of Hamann and two congressmen, the Townsells petitioned military investigators to reopen the case. Two other families and a surviving soldier, Samuel Snow of Florida, joined the petition.
In October, the Army’s Board of Corrections of Military Records ruled that the soldiers were unfairly denied access to their attorneys and investigative records. The panel set aside their convictions.
Drake said that ruling redeemed Townsell’s name and honor, as it did for the other soldiers. All but two of the 28 convicted men are deceased.
Townsell’s oldest daughter, Marion, received the flag in the ceremony at Graceland Cemetery on Milwaukee’s north side.
“That will be a huge moment for us,” Drake said. “We’re all waiting for that American flag. Our family is still very, very patriotic.
“We believe in the American flag, and we’re looking forward to receiving that.”
Townsell’s widow, 88-year-old Delores, was quite ill and was not able to attend, Drake said.
