Army corrects record about a Black soldier’s death

On March 23, 1941, Pvt. Albert H. King left Fort Benning, near Columbus, Ga., for a night off base with friends. With a good-conduct pass in hand, King took a break from training and stayed out until dawn.

But the revelry stopped abruptly on the segregated bus ride back to the Army barracks.

King, a 20-year-old Black soldier with the Quartermaster Corps, would later find himself escaping a mob of white soldiers on the bus. A white member of the military police, Sgt. Robert Lummus, shot King five times, killing him as he walked on the main road at Fort Benning toward his barracks, according to military records.

Lummus claimed self-defense and, 13 hours after killing King, was found not guilty by a military court.

At the time, King was listed as having died “not in line of duty.” Last month, more than 80 years after King’s death, Army

officials corrected the record.

The Army Board for Correction of Military Records changed the death record of King to list him as having died “in the line of duty.” The change had been sought by Helen Russell, a first cousin to King and his last known living relative, in an effort to fight for her “family and their rights.”

“To fight for something such as this and to make history and correct the law, and the Army itself, it’s a great thing,” Russell said.

In a Nov. 28 letter, the board notified Russell that her petition had been reviewed by the board and that King’s status would be updated to “reflect this new finding.”

“We remain committed to assist you in honor of Private King’s dedicated service to our great nation,” wrote Col. Michelle Schaumburg, chief of the casualty and mortuary affairs operations division for the Army.

A U.S. Army spokesperson,

Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Hewitt, said that “the Army puts a high priority on honoring the legacy of all our soldiers and their families, especially when there is an error or injustice, as there was in the case of Pvt. Albert King.”

King is one of dozens of active-duty Black military personnel who were believed to have been killed on or near U.S. bases during the World War II era because of their race but whose stories were largely papered over.