DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say — and this one, friends, deserves every word. Let's start where it begins, with a man. Charles H.
Lytle. U.S. Navy.
The first African American serviceman from Beeville killed in World War II. He died on January 4, 1945, when the USS Ommaney Bay sank near the Philippines after being bombed. Gone in the Pacific, far from Bee County, Texas.
He received a posthumous Purple Heart Medal — though the official casualty list got his name slightly tangled, listing him as 'Major Charles Lytle.' That small clerical twist would end up meaning something, as we'll see. Because in 1946, the American Legion granted a temporary charter to a new post — and they named it the Charles Major Lytle Post 274-A. Named for the man, carrying even the scrambled version of his name as a kind of honor.
The post came under the sponsorship of the local American Legion Post 274, which was run by Anglo veterans. Sixteen charter members. That's where they started — sixteen men, meeting in the Masonic Hall and the Negro USO Club, finding whatever floor would have them, building something from scratch.
And they kept building. Literally. In 1953, they finished their own building — on lots donated by a philanthropist named Judge James R.
Dougherty. His son, Dudley T. Dougherty, made further contributions and offered support at the meetings.
That building went up, and it was ready just in time, because that same year, 1953, the post hosted the Negro American Legion Convention, with Post Commander Lymas Langley, Jr. presiding. Two years later, in 1955, the post officially incorporated under the name it carries today — Charles Major Lytle American Legion Post 818. The name settled in, honoring Charles H.
Lytle as he deserved to be honored. Now here's where the story takes a turn that asks you to sit with something. This was the era of segregation.
And that building — the one those sixteen men scraped and organized and finally raised on donated lots — it became something bigger than a veterans' post. It became a community anchor. From 1956 to 1963, African American graduates of A.C.
Jones High School, barred from attending their own school's prom, held their prom at the post. Let that land. Their own school's prom — and they weren't allowed in.
So they built their own celebration, right there in that hall. Graduates of the segregated Lott-Canada School used the post for their proms until 1963 as well. Post leaders carried it forward through those years — Lymas Langley, Jr., John Mayberry, Ben Lott, George McCarty, and Eugene Langley among them.
Then, in 1997, with membership declining, the post did something quietly remarkable. They donated their building — the one built on Judge Dougherty's lots, the one that sheltered generations of celebrations no one else would host — they donated it jointly to Jones Chapel United Methodist Church and Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church. Jones Chapel later turned its share over to Bethlehem.
And after serious consideration, Bethlehem gave sole ownership to the Lott-Canada Alumni Association, for its reunions and other celebrations. A building that started as a place for veterans found its way, in the end, to the graduates of the very school that once relied on it to hold their proms. Charles H.
Lytle went down with the Ommaney Bay on January 4, 1945. The post that carries his name is still holding community together. That's the kind of legacy that outlasts a building — and outlasts a war.
What the marker says
CHARLES H. LYTLE, U.S. NAVY, WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN SERVICEMAN FROM BEEVILLE KILLED IN WWII. HE DIED ON JANUARY 4, 1945, WHEN THE USS OMMANEY BAY SANK NEAR THE PHILIPPINES AFTER BEING BOMBED. LYTLE (LISTED AS "MAJOR CHARLES LYTLE" IN THE OFFICIAL CASUALTY LIST) RECEIVED A POSTHUMOUS PURPLE HEART MEDAL. IN 1946, THE AMERICAN LEGION GRANTED A TEMPORARY CHARTER TO CHARLES MAJOR LYTLE POST 274-A, UNDER SPONSORSHIP OF THE LOCAL AMERICAN LEGION POST 274, WHICH WAS RUN BY ANGLO VETERANS. SIXTEEN CHARTER MEMBERS OF POST 274A MET IN THE MASONIC HALL AND THE NEGRO USO CLUB UNTIL COMPLETION OF THEIR OWN BUILDING IN 1953 ON LOTS DONATED BY PHILANTHROPIST JUDGE JAMES R. DOUGHERTY. HIS SON, DUDLEY T. DOUGHERTY, MADE FURTHER CONTRIBUTIONS AND OFFERED SUPPORT AT MEETINGS. THE FACILITY HOSTED THE NEGRO AMERICAN LEGION CONVENTION IN 1953, WITH POST COMMANDER LYMAS LANGLEY, JR. PRESIDING. IN 1955, THE POST OFFICIALLY INCORPORATED AS CHARLES MAJOR LYTLE AMERICAN LEGION POST 818. IN THE ERA OF SEGREGATION, THE POST SERVED AS A COMMUNITY MEETING PLACE. FOR INSTANCE, FROM 1956 TO 1963, AFRICAN AMERICAN GRADUATES OF A.C. JONES HIGH SCHOOL, BARRED FROM ATTENDING THE SCHOOL'S PROM, HELD THEIR OWN PROM AT THE POST. GRADUATES OF THE SEGREGATED LOTT-CANADA SCHOOL USED THE POST FOR PROMS UNTIL 1963. IN ADDITION TO LANGLEY, OTHER POST LEADERS WERE JOHN MAYBERRY, BEN LOTT, GEORGE MCCARTY, AND EUGENE LANGLEY. IN 1997, DUE TO DECLINING MEMBERSHIP, THE POST DONATED ITS BUILDING TO THE JONES CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH AND BETHLEHEM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, JOINTLY. JONES CHAPEL TURNED ITS SHARE OVER TO BETHLEHEM. AFTER SERIOUS CONSIDERATION BETHLEHEM GAVE SOLE OWNERSHIP TO THE LOTT-CANADA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION FOR ITS REUNIONS AND OTHER CELEBRATIONS. (2014)