Bruce Bercume was a Military Police Officer during the Korean War. As a kid he grew up with an African American family in the early 1950s. He lived on a farm in Oxford, Massachusetts. This African American family had a huge house where 16 children lived and where they ran 3 cotton mills. Bruce put cloth in the machines to make cotton for clothes after school part time. They were extremely generous, kind, and one of the nicest families you could ever meet. Bruce was with them more than he was with his own family. He was between the ages of 15-16 when he was with them. After high school he joined the service to become a Military Policeman. Bruce was stationed in Washington D.C. He enjoyed going to see his girlfriend Mary (his current wife) on 15th street when he wasn’t busy. She lived 4 miles from his army post. In order to get to Mary’s he would grab a bus from his post to 14th street. He then walked from there onto 15th Street. In this day in age all the African Americans had to stand in the back of the bus, something Bruce didn’t understand. One day on his way back to his army post on the 14th Street bus, a pregnant African American women boarded the bus. Bruce claims she was a pleasant lady to talk to. He was sitting at the front of the bus when he approached the women and said “You can take my seat.” She was scared and unsure of taking his seat because there were many Caucasian people on the bus. African Americans at the time were not allowed to sit in the front of the bus. Bruce said to her, “Sit down. I will stay on the bus with you until you reach your destination, that way no one can hurt you.” She finally agreed and sat down. All the Caucasian people on the bus booed and yelled at him. He said, “I am in the Military Police, (even though he was in civilian clothes) and she has every right to sit where she wants. Her baby is almost due and she needs to sit down.” While Bruce was still stationed in Washington D.C. he enjoyed going to an African American barbershop. He found that the barber there gave nice haircuts. When he walked into the barbershop for the first time the guys sitting inside thought he was nuts. Bruce claims the African American barber listened patiently to how he wanted his hair cut which was military standards. Bruce eventually began talking to the other African American men inside and they enjoyed his company. They soon became his friends. Bruce feels that maybe if he hadn't grown up with an African American family back in Massachusetts, perhaps he would not have felt this way. He couldn't understand how coming from Massachusetts to Washington D.C. could have been so different. This man is my Grandfather. By: Steven Bonini -Staff Writer Comments are closed.
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June 2019
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