From Labor to Leader: The Beagle Family story

Courtesy Photo | Brig. Gen. Milford H. "Beags" Beagle Jr., Fort Jackson commander, stands in his office, one place he said he wishes he could show his great grandfather, who served in a segregated Army during World War I. (Photo Credit: Ms. Elyssa Vondra)  

FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

02.28.2019

Courtesy Story

Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office

From a segregated Fort Jackson to a post run by an African American commander, the Beagle Family has seen the installation come full circle.

Drafted into service for World War I, former Pvt. Walter Beagles arrived at Fort Jackson to train in 1918.

Beagles, an Enoree, South Carolina cotton farmer, was assigned to a labor position.

At the time, there was a widespread assumption that African Americans wouldn't be good war fighters, said Henry Howe, Fort Jackson Basic Combat Training Museum curator.

One century later, Beagles's great grandson, Brig. Gen. Milford H. "Beags" Beagle Jr., defied those stereotypes, becoming commander of Fort Jackson.

While Beagle's grandfather dropped the "s" in the Family name, Beagle is continuing the Army Family legacy that his great grandpa, Beagles, began.

"I didn't start off believing I could be at this point, but I also started out knowing that any ceiling anybody put above me, it was going to be a glass ceiling," Beagle said. "My job was to shatter that ceiling."

Beagle enlisted in the Army in 1990 in an infantry position that he probably wouldn't have been able to take during his great grandfather's time in the services.

Back in 1918, "there was a resistance to bring (African Americans) into the combat arms side of the war," Howe said.

Most were given assignments similar to Beagles': preparing ditches, building roads and unloading supplies.

Beagle was still in high school when his great grandpa died. Despite having a close relationship, they never talked about his war experiences.

"He joined, he served, and completed his service honorably," Beagle said. "For me, that's good in and of itself."

Fort Jackson had just hit the ground running when Beagles arrived in 1918.

With fewer than 130,000 Soldiers in the Regular Army in April 1917, 16 training bases were created to prepare the U.S. to enter World War I.

The installation, equipped to host 45,000 Soldiers, was built in eight months -- including the time it took to clear the land, drain two swamps, and build a paved road and railroad from Fort Jackson to Columbia.

African Americans were housed in a cornered-off section. Sleeping, bathing and dining barracks were separated by race.

Beagles was one of more than 360,000 African American troops drafted into the military for World War I. Before the war, there were fewer than 20,000 African Americans in the armed services.

Beagles trained in the 156th Depot Brigade learning "fundamental Army skills" for one month on-post. In September 1918, he was assigned to the 346th Quartermaster Labor Battalion.

Howe said it's unlikely that Beagles had the chance to learn war fighting skills, since today's version of Basic Combat Training didn't exist back then. Soldiers didn't all learn standardized war-readiness.

During his initial training, he may have gotten some minimal lessons in marksmanship, but he probably primarily learned marching skills, Howe said.

Beagles deployed to France at the end of October, 1918, but on Nov. 11, 1918, the Armistice ended the war. He was honorably discharged in January 1919.

Beagles died at the age of 94 on Feb. 13, 1985.

Progress toward equality on-post was made during his lifetime. In 1950, Fort Jackson was racially integrated. Beagles didn't live to see the first African American commander of Fort Jackson. Retired Maj. Gen. Abraham Turner made history by taking on that role in 2004.

Beagle became commanding general last year.

If his great grandfather were still alive today, Beagle said he would want to show him his office; seeing the Family name recognized would "swell him with pride."

• Date Taken: 02.28.2019
• Date Posted: 03.01.2019 13:51
• Story ID: 312528
• Location: FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US
• Hometown: ENOREE, SOUTH CAROLINA, US