Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:06 | It was in the 3rd Cavalry at Fort Meade that Joseph Hudson, through sheer force of will and tricks learned working in supply, formed an Army band out of the thin air.
Keywords : Joseph Hudson segregated segregation band Drum and Bugle Corps supply midnight requisition reveille
In 1944, Joseph Hudson volunteered for the draft, seeking excitement. He trained in complete separation from white soldiers, going to basic training and then administration school. He got off a boat in Calcutta and went to work in supply at a quartermaster outfit that was salvaging equipment from the Burma Road.
It was a completely different place. Joseph Hudson saw things in Calcutta that he never could have imagined. There was a mess kit thieving bird that swooped down from the sky. There were snake and mongoose battles staged for your entertainment and there were monkeys that went for a daily walk.
Joseph Hudson was in Calcutta when the war ended and was home soon because his four children gave him high points. He was only out of the Army a couple of months before he re-enlisted. He just felt more comfortable in the service.
Retired from the Army, Joseph Hudson laments the difficulties faced by today's soldiers, who face more complicated conflicts than he did. He still holds his love for country close, despite the racism he faced in his career, like a frustrating incident he remembers involving General George Patton.
He was stationed in Japan in an anti-aircraft artillery outfit, when he started another Army band, like he had back at his last post. Joseph Hudson had no idea that the band would be kept intact after the Korean War broke out, but it was.
It wasn't glamorous at Fort Leonard Wood, but Joseph Hudson was there doing his best, working in supply. He re-enlisted a second time while he was there, going to a cavalry unit at Fort Meade, where he learned about that unique vehicle, the Duck.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved but the Cold War was heating up. The band at Fort Meade was broken up and Joseph Hudson had to return to more critical duties. He was sent to Germany for five years, where he worked in personnel, due to a surgically repaired back. He returned to Fort Benning to finish a twenty year career.
He loved the Army and he loved America, but over a twenty year career, Joseph Hudson experienced a lot of odd slights and disappointments that could only be explained by racism. Still, he holds his love for country true.
