The Color of the Band: A Soldier Triumphs in Love and Overcomes Hate in Occupied Germany and Beyond

Post-World War II SFC (Ret.) Walter D. Medley, Jr., now ninety-four, teamed with author and print journalist Yvonne J. Medley (no relation, perhaps) to write this untold story of American History--the role that All-Negro Army Bands and Honor Guard played to help win a second term for President Harry S. Truman and support to desegregate the military; a Black soldier's navigation of Jim Crow racism in both the military and in American society; and the tender story of love, faith, and perseverance of a New England African American family that can trace its roots from slavery to present day. It's a historical memoir. Also, as a young man, Mr. Medley fell in love and married a German woman, Irene Meyer. While the marriage was short-lived (because his wife did not want to leave Germany), the two became loving parents of a beautiful baby girl (Geraldine, named after Mr. Walter's brother). Their love story reveals much about the U.S. Army and the racial climate of the day. However, not until Mr. Medley was in his eighties would he discover he had also fathered a son, then dubbed a Brown Baby (German babies sired by African American soldiers and German women). Ironically, it was a son he had always wanted but had unknowingly left behind. Today, father and son and grandson have a forging relationship. Mr. Medley's historical memoir chronicles his life placement during momentous events in American and European history, special family moments, his loves-his nearly 50-year marriage to the late Anna May Taliaferrow Medley, and his new beginnings with his present wife, Sharon LeCompt Medley. All in all, Mr. Medley shares intricate details of the Greatest Generation that Saved the World! During the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, Mr. Medley and Journalist/Author Yvonne J. Medley penned his story. Both are thankful for the assistance of the Medley-Lipscomp Family, the Life Journeys Writers Guild, Inc., Genealogist Victoria Robinson, and Maryland and Virginia's Congressional Delegation and the Veteran's History Project to share this rich American History-untold!