MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Booker Townsell rarely spoke about his time in the U.S. Army or his wrongful conviction in one of the largest court-martial of World War II.
But his past took center stage on Saturday, when the late Townsell received military honors at his grave site and a salute. His family also accepted the U.S. flag that was denied at his burial almost 25 years ago.
The ceremony and reception that followed attracted hundreds of people, including local and state dignitaries, a representative from the 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’ living conditions on the post.
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. Townsell died in 1984 at the age of 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.
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.
Townsell’s oldest daughter, Marion, received the flag in the ceremony at Graceland Cemetery on Milwaukee’s north side.
Drake said the Army apologized to the family and that left them in tears.
Two congressmen who requested the reviews — Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash. and Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. — attended the flag ceremony and the reception, which was at the city’s War Memorial Center.
“Every family has pride and this is a way to give them an opportunity to be proud. They should be,” McDermott said.
McDermott said he is looking into getting compensation for the families of the other men, including lost pay and benefits.
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