My full name is Nolan Self.
I was born the first day of September 1918
My dad was Brack Self, that's all they ever knew dad as, Brack. My momma was
named Joanna, we were raised to work. My daddy was a farmer, in Leesville. And he
believed in working and he was a hard worker.
Wherever dad was that's where I was, in fact, he always called me "Sweet boy in
the knee nine" , and what that means I don't know. But, I was crazy about
my daddy, and he was crazy about his baby boy. He was a real man, when he was a
young man he drank that whiskey and ride his horse and go through the town and
shoot the town up. My family had five boys and six girls, eleven of us. Well, mom
had to do most of the raising and she she made us go while I was
going, but see, we were so poor cause dad left us early. I remember coming home one
day, I came in through the back door and mama was. . . ... This touches me. , I came in through
the back door mama was out on the front porch in the swing, she heard me, and she
said, Nolan, there's some biscuits in the oven. I picked the last of the collard greens, they
are sitting on the stove but I didn't have no fat to put in them, Nolan, so I
cooked them with lard. That tore me up. I quit school and she didn't have to
tell me to quit, I quit. Roosevelt had started the CCC Civilian Conservation
Corps. The CCC was a forerunner of Honor States Army. Roosevelt was a
farseeing man, he knew that Hitler was raising sand at that time, and we were
gonna have to tangle with him. And so he started with CCC
there was no bridges, no roads, and no trees, all he saw was eroded roads, the roads are fixed already.
And he told us that he wanted every man to work because there was no work, everybody was a hobo. Trains was running but full of men going from state
to state. Roosevelt, I'm gonna stop this, I'm gonna
start to CCC and put everybody to work. But he told you when he hired you, he
said I'm gonna pay you a dollar a day and a month to me only has 30 days. You get
$30 at the end of the month, but, you can only keep five of them dollars. The 25 is
going home to mom and dad. I'm gonna see to that. We were glad to do that At the same time, Roosevelt was building
barracks and tents, because he knew we gonna need them later on. I stayed in the
CCC for two terms, so I stayed to the two years that I was allotted, and I had to
go back home to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. They sent me back home and my mama and my two
sisters, they were the only ones there. Needed me, and I could see what conditions
they were living in. I went back down to the CCC headquarters and begged
the lady to let me go back for one more term. I over powered her she let me go back
in for another two years, for the sake of my sister's and my mama, she agreed with
me because I begged her on my knees all morning. When I came out of the CCC it was 1940
so I was old enough then to fight to be a soldier. Well, I never thought about the
United States Army I hadn't even thought of that really, but the Buffalo Soldiers
they got a tremendous history. My mother had a letter, she said Nolan you
have a letter from the President. When I opened the letter he told me he
said I want you Nolan Self to be one of my soldiers. He greeted me of course or the letter did But he told me, I want you to take a physical and he told me where I'd have to go to get the physical and if you pass the physical I
want you to report to Fort Leavenworth Kansas and become a member of the 10th Calvary and be one of my soldiers. Then when I told my mom she started crying
and said Oh Nolan they can't, whatcha mean going to the army. . I said mama
don't cry I said it's a good thing for you and the girls. I said mama you gonna
get a check if I pass the physical. She don't understand that, don't take my babyboy no no no. Now a lot of the guys were taking balls of soap and making a pill
out of it and swallowing it and drink a lot of water to make the blood pressure
go up they don't want to go into the army, I told em, I said I don't want
nothing to do with that I want to pass this physical.
I passed and then Roosevelt got the word that I had passed, he not only took
me he took 400 blacks out of Pine Bluff Arkansas on the Missouri Pacific train
and took us all the way to Fort Leavenworth Kansas. I've never been away
from home in my life. Pine bluff was a pretty good place to
live we never had any troubles there, never and so I went into the army at Fort Leavenworth,
Fort Leavenworth ain't nobody gonna act up there if you got good sense. The officers were kind. They were hand-picked. You just don't
become an officer in the 10th cavalry or the 9th cavalry. I had a good time when I was in the service. The best thing I can remember is I could eat like I wanted to. I was a youngster then what they called a Private, Buck Private. But the army was a salvation to me and my family. I was glad to be a soldier. I loved horses in the army I had a beauty, I had two horses in fact in the service and when your in a horse cavalry they assign you two horses so you
have a spare because you know one might break a leg or he might get sick
anything could happen cuz they have sick call every morning ten o'clock it's just
like they did for us soldiers. I had a horse named Funston. He had a beautiful build he was wide and that's kind of a horse I need because at that time I'm learning I don't know a whole lot about em and he was a good horse to ride cuz he
was one when they say gallop all you got to do is sit in the saddle cuz he's gonna give you that ride you
know. Anyway but he ran away with me though one day so we were out riding for
pleasure learn how there's different things you
need know when you ride the horse how to properly handle him and they teach
you. If he gets spooked which he will get a lot of time and he's gonna start
running in they said never jumped from that horse but
take up your reins and cut him in a circle because he can't stand that
cut in his mouth well he got the run and he got spooked and took off and I
was right along the Kansas River we were riding that morning, whole bunch of us,
and the sergeant in charge he way up in front he didn't know the horse that
done broke out of the ranks that started running away with me and he headed right
for the river and I can't swim they teach you to never jump from a horse
when he gets spooked and starts you know running. Because if your foot should
happen to get caught in that stirrup he dragged you to death he was he was
going with me and I said well Lord I can't swim and
you have your people to say don't jump but I'm jumping. To this day if I had it
all to do over and sooner buying a home I'd buy me a farm on where could have me a
horse at least because I love to ride. And at 96, people
tell me you can't ride anymore But I believe I can. I met Joe Louis went
running with him well not just me. Every black and was in the unit and
could run ran with him one morning. Joe Louis built the conditioning
camp at Fort Riley. Because the government moved the tenth Calvary to Fort Riley Kansas where the ninth calvary was at already. So the two units
could train together both black units. So it was a joy to run with Joe. Joe didn't
do no work naturally just just being Joe Louis. He was a fine
man though. He was a gentleman perfect gentleman. In fact he was living in Junction City, he and Marva. and he knew that the
soldiers didn't have nothing for him to do. So what he did was he contacted Count
Basie to come here with his big pretty good band and I'm gonna be a responsible
for all the young ladies so the soldiers would have someone to dance with.
And I don't have basic to play the music and he could do that. Somebody got the
young ladies together, Joe paid for the bill he paid for the buses and all the
girls. Joe brought them in by the bus load. Well, Wilma came to this dance that Joe
sponsored in Topeka Kansas, but a friend of hers I had met her and I thought I was
gonna be with her, but she had another fella she was going to be with, and Wilma
said she asked her if she would entertain me! Well, I thought I just about to
kiss this kid I never seen, it was so handsome and he seemed so, great manners.
My mother just thought that was the best thing that ever happened to that kid
because he was from the south. It was a little bit different than the
northern boys were. And I found out we when we got on the dance floor you know
what to do and Joe Louis even played the drums that night. Well, you know Joe can't
play no drum, but, that's Joe Louis. The girls just went crazy over Joe Louis.
Anyway, well, me and Wilma we hit the dance floor and I found out that she
was all right, and so we began to talk and hold hands, and we were set outside on his
front steps and talked a long time. I knew right then I said that's the girl
that I want. I had to go back to camp the next day and they had to go home,
naturally, that night. Not long after that he was transferred and sent to
Mississippi, and I thought well that's the end of that, but then we started
writing and things progressed. I remember Normandy you never forget that. Eisenhower was walking with a big old
bullhorn greeting the soldiers and telling them, telling us brethren, what a
fine thing we were doing for our country and a whole lot of other things he was
telling us and I remember these words, to me they were very touching, and I know
there must have been touching to others also. He said you guys are doing a great
thing this is your country which is true you're doing this for your country, but I
want you to know that some of you are going to go in, and then some of you
won't come back. When they loaded us up on an LST to
go onto the shore there was so many young men floating at that time we ain't got
to show it yet. Rifles a floating, packs were floating, him he
was dead already. Couldn't swim, I couldn't swim, and a lot
of those I imagine was in the shape I was in because we don't have time
to be talking then. But, God Almighty had something in store for me I don't know
how I got ashore but I got ashore. I worried about him, I remember D-day
that I was in Toledo with his family and had gone out there to visit them, as I go
back on the bus, I dropped off to sleep and just as I'm talking
to you, I heard his voice calling my name. I woke up, of course, kind of frightened me.
When I got home, the radio said it was D-day it started, and I just was
terrified because I knew he was in Europe
I didn't know what was you know you didn't get letters that often and of
course they were all censored so that you, there wasn't anything in them about
really what was going on. Yes that was that was the worst time for me. I went in
as everybody does, you go as a "Buck-private", but I knew my background, I
knew I wasn't a smart boy, I knew I was a poor boy, I knew I was a black boy, but I
thought things would be different. When I came back because I fought in five
campaigns I fought in the Ardanaise, and I fought in Central Europe, I also went over
to southern Wales. I didn't have to fight, but I went over there to fight. I
came out naturally when the war was over and I had some good things happen to
me. I was able somehow to become the First Sergeant. Now the First Sergeant is the highest rank, a black or white who as is an enlisted
man, could reach it that day. I served for 20 years, and when I got out I
didn't know what I was gonna do because they don't need no first sergeant's out
here, they need him in the Army, Navy, Marines. And I told my wife, I said honey, I don't
know what I'm gonna do I got this big family and I ain't no First Sergeant
anymore it was there was very little work you could do, nobody to hire you,
or wanted to hire you, rather as a rule. I was lucky enough to get a job in the city
on the tail end of a garbage truck so I told my wife, I said honey I'm working I got a job
but I don't want to work on the back end a little garbage truck I'm gonna
quit it. That girl told me don't quit it
the Lord has something for you that's the words she used.
I continued to work but I sure didn't like it I wanted to quit. So what would
you do honey you got a big family, family was growing she said I don't know look
excuse me she said the Lord has something for you Nolan, so I took the job
and I worked for about two months on the back end of the truck picking up
people's garbage and emptying it. One day I went to work as usual and all the
trucks have radios in them so that headquarters can talk to the truck driver.
The radio came on and said have Nolan Self report to the Daily Union Newspaper
office. And the driver looked at me and said Nolan what have you done.
I said ain't doing nothing what they they want me for?
And I walked in and see the manager and he said Nolan this is so and so and so and so, pat on the
shoulder said we had you come up here Nolan because we have decided that you
are the new Superintendent of the Sanitation Department for this city.
I almost fainted but I was so thankful and I took the job
and I held the job for 17 straight years until I went to California with my wife. First of all when I took my vows till death do we die I meant that because our vows were to God
so we just worked things out one way or the other and it's been a wonderful
marriage I had some beautiful kids that have been have been wonderful they
truly truly worry about their mother used to pray that I would have a girl
but God knows best and I'm so thankful what I had the boys cuz they're very
close to me and my husband was so good at being First Sergeant that it all boiled
down to the family all we had to do was look at him. Then they really snapped and
just and I'll say they didn't give us a lot of troubles but a lot of sleepless
nights. We've got a lot of memories and a lot of experiences and that's only
happened because I married Norman. And he was understanding enough to allow
me to to express myself. The Lord has been good to me
Lord's been good to me. I have to go to church on Sunday we called I hold this
to my god. Know the Lord and then let him run things for you everyone's gonna have
some kind of a problem and you can't do it by yourself.
I think every man should go to war it will discipline them and they need that
discipline. War is inevitable we know that and I very believe from just
the experiences with my children that every young man and young woman spend
two years in the service it's good training it's a good mixture of
different cultures because they had to work as teams within the service. They
have to be concerned about their fellow soldier. Early to bed early to rise makes
a man healthy wealthy and wise. Learn to work hard you've got to know how to work you can't
get through this life taking for granted that you're supposed to have it soft and
easy I don't care what kind of work it is but good honorable work and to be
honest and trust God to do the rest. I worked hard I worked hard but I was the
type of guy do any kind of work that man is gonna pay me some money.
If it's don't get but a dollar, that's a dollar I didn't have. And I'd do the job.
But whatever your hand finds to do. Do it with your heart!
