ONE VOICE / ONE SOUND

Letters to Us

From  Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. 

In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.)  The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician. Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy's premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief's medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation. 

What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.  After leaving the service of his country, the young African-American finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America's biggest cities.  This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ. 

- Lawrence Korb  /  Ian Moss