Last night I posted about Tech 5 Samuel Hargroves. And there’s more to the story. To tell it I must step through the fourth wall again; talk about Researcher Chris and me. I hope you find the story of the green bag worth it. (For more about Samuel follow this link to our research site)
Two years ago Samuel’s daughter, Shirl Leverette, typed “93rd Engineers and Alaska Highway” into Google’s search bar and found our research website. (https://www.93regimentalcan.com/) She hit “contact us” and dispatched an email. “Samuel Hargroves served with the 93rd Engineers with Company F during WWII. He is my father. Dad will be 97 years of age in September.” For more about Samuel Hargroves of the 93rd click here
Researcher, spiritual guide, team leader and resident sparkplug, Chris exploded into action. A quick google search led us to Dr. Leverett’s own website—she is a distinguished educator and owns an educational consulting company in Henrico County, Virginia. Henrico is only a few hours from our home in North Carolina, and Chris was ready to hit the road that night!
Calming slightly, Chris contacted Dr. Leverett the next day, and the following Saturday we met Mr. Hargroves; spent the better part of the day with him and his incredible wife Mayola, his lovely daughter and several of his great grandchildren. He taught us a great deal about a black man’s life in Yukon in 1942. More important, he granted us the privilege of being in the presence of one of the unsung heroes of the Highway.
Chris cried when she hugged him; and, truth to tell, so did I.
Recall that Samuel never talked about his time in the Army until he broke silence at a surprise party at his church just a few years ago. On our Saturday he wore a sweatshirt with the proud words “U.S. Army” across his chest. Shirl told us about a cap he wears frequently that proclaims him a WW2 veteran.
When he wears it, “people always stop to thank him for his service; sometimes pay for his coffee…” At Yorktown, VA one afternoon, an Army Colonel knelt, reverently, and spoke with Samuel for 45 minutes.
It’s about damned time.
Just a year before our visit, Shirl had dug an old green canvas bag out of Samuel’s closet. She had never seen it before. If her mother, Mayola, had seen it, it had been a very long time ago.
They opened it; found faded photos, letters, an ancient, cracked leather wallet and other things they couldn’t identify.
That old green bag accompanied Samuel from Camp Livingston to the Yukon and beyond. In frigid tents across the North Country, the bag hung from rope to keep it off floors slimy with mud. Samuel Hargroves endured the unendurable and defended his country. He didn’t whine or complain. He just stepped up, day after day after endless day. In the green bag he carried the things behind his stoic exterior, the things of his heart.
For seventy-four years, a hidden shrine in the back of Samuel’s closet, the little green bag preserved the heart of a hero.