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Daughter of Tuskegee Airman makes Texas Guard history Chronicling historical

by Warrant Officer 1 la Payne described her career in the Guard duties rotating between the Air National Immediately, it was back to work for
DAVID BROWN as highlighted by travel and full of support Guard and Air Force Reserve following her Paula Payne as she ran to the site where contributions of Black Marines
from her superiors. Her first move was to commission, until the terror attacks on Sep- a young airman died attempting to save
Texas Military Department Andrews Air Force Base after transferring tember 11, 2001, called her back to full-time his fellow service members.
During World War II, Sgt. Percy Howard to the District of Columbia National Guard. service as the Air National Guard’s first Black “If it were not for him, it could have by Cpl. Ships notes that the brig was caught in a storm, destroy-
Payne was assigned to the support team of Upon arrival, she met a commander with female chaplain. been me or anybody else. He was my hero,” SETh ROSENBERg ing it and killing all those aboard but the cook.
the 332nd Fighter Wing of the U.S. Army Air a link to her family’s past military service. Paula Payne’s first combat deployment said Payne. Isaac Walker and a man known only as “Orange” fol-
Corps, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen Lt. Gen. Russell C. Davis was the com- led her to Balad, Iraq, as part of the 332nd Following her six months in Iraq, I MEF Information Group lowed Martin, enlisting at Tun Tavern in 1776. Capt.
— America’s first Black aviators. A genera- mander of Paula Payne’s new unit, the 113th Expeditionary Medical Group, a component Paula Payne deployed to multiple as- Any Marine can quickly recite the birth date of the U.S. Robert Mullan inducted them into his company, which
tion later, the Payne family would again make Fighter Wing, and also a native of Tuskegee, of the 332nd Fighter Wing, her father’s for- signments across Europe and the United Marine Corps — 10 Nov. 1775. Recruits and officer candi- was part of a battalion of Marines raised by Maj. Samuel
military history, as Col. Paula Payne became Alabama. According to Paula Payne, Davis mer unit. Though prejudice kept Percy Payne States before retiring as a lieutenant dates memorize this and many other pieces of knowledge Nicholas. Mullan’s company crossed the Delaware River
the first Black woman to serve in the rank of took quick interest in her career development from rising through the ranks, his daughter colonel in 2014. Thinking of what life with George Washington and fought the British at the
colonel in the Texas State Guard. and coordinated for her to obtain a full time Paula was named the senior chaplain at Joint might hold next, she remembered the sto- like the first female Marine, first Marine aviator, and
As part of the Tuskegee Airmen, Percy position with the Air National Guard. Base Balad. ries of her grandfather, who had grown dozens of other historical figures and events. However, for Battle of Princeton in 1777, cementing Walker and Or-
Payne worked in procurement and used his “When I arrived to the 113th, Lt. Gen. Rus- During her time in Iraq, Paula Payne up in Texas as the son of a Methodist our Black brothers and sisters, the history seems muddled. ange’s significant role in Marine Corps history.
talents as a musician and entertainer to sell asked ‘Why do you want to do weekend described the attacks as non-stop, recalling preacher. It inspired her to pack her bags Of course, the record speaks of the Montford Point According to the U.S. Marine Corps Museum, at least
support troop morale as part of Operation drills? We need some people for active duty one night when a mortar struck near her again, and this time, she and her twin Marines, created after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 13 of the 2,000 Continental Marines were Black.
Happiness. Serving at a time when the U.S. at the Air National Guard Support Center quarters. sister Patricia Payne, an Army veteran, executive order to prohibit racial discrimination in the In 1796, Secretary of War James McHenry passed
military was racially segregated, Percy Payne and the National Guard Bureau!’” said Davis. “You could hear the faint eeeee... boom, decided to relocate to Texas. According defense industry. However, specific events, dates, and an act that banned people of color from serving in the
found himself denied leadership roles, as Davis’ recommendation helped Paula and it was close to my hooch, the housing to Payne she sensed something waiting names elude the memory of many Marines. After all, Ma- military. This act remained law until the Emancipation
Black Soldiers were denied entry into the Payne become the first enlisted airman to location of the medical group. The rocket was for her there. rine Corps curriculum only added the history of Montford Proclamation in 1863 allowed people of color to serve in
officer corps. Frustrated with a system that serve in the Chief of Chaplain’s Office at the launched in the middle of the night. I felt the Four years later, Payne took the oath Point in 2011. the Army and Navy, but not the Marines.
denied advancement based on race, Percy Air National Guard Support Center. The thing hit the ground, PA-PUM. Then I heard of office becoming the first Black female A timeline created by the U.S. Marine Corps Museum President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted Executive
Payne left the military when the war ended. move also put Paula Payne on the path to ‘Nobody move, shelter in place!” said Payne. colonel to serve in the Texas State Guard. provides the true record. The first Black Marine enlisted
Undeterred by her father’s treatment, joining the ministry. Payne went on to earn An hour and a half went by as the Explo- Payne had worked toward attaining that
Paula Payne enlisted in the Virgin Islands a master’s degree in divinity from Wesley sive Ordnance Team attempted to defuse rank in both Air National Guard and Air almost 170 years before Montford Point, during the See marines, Page 13
Air National Guard after finishing her under- Theological Seminary, and direct commission the mortar. Paula Payne sheltered in place, Force reserve, but she was never selected. Revolutionary War. Capt. Miles Pennington recruited
graduate and graduate education. According as a second lieutenant. praying. “I had finally come to terms that the Private John “Keto” Martin in April of 1776. The person With MARADMIN 331/20, the Commandant of the Ma-
to Paula Payne, the decision was not well “I started all over again from the bottom “I knew I was going to die if I stepped out promotion was not God’s plan.” said Paula who enslaved Martin had no idea of his recruitment to rine Corps Gen. David Berger ordered the removal
received by her father. of the officer’s ranks, separated from active that hooch and made one move.” said Payne. Payne. “Then the Governor signed the the Continental Marines. of public displays of the Confederate battle flag from
“He told me ‘I just hope they treat you bet- duty, and transferred over to the Air Force “Then came the sound of an explosion, the promotion order. When I die, my obituary Martin served aboard the Continental brig USS Repri- Marine Corps installations, June 5, 2020. This graphic
ter than they treated me,’” said Paula Payne. Reserves as a chaplain candidate.” next thing I heard was someone shout for will read, “Chaplain, Colonel, Paula M. sal, participating in a cruise that resulted in the capture of honors the Marines of Montford Point with significant
Describing herself as “a rolling stone,” Pau- Paula Payne served in a variety of pastoral the chaplain.” Payne. Texas did that for me.” five British merchantmen. He served on the Reprisal until photos of Montford Point Marines and the Congres-
1777, when the dictionary of American Naval Fighting sional Gold Medal presented to Montford Pointers. layout and design by cpl. seth rosenberg

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