Do you know about the 1967 Detroit riot murders?

2016-08-14T23:49:41-04:00

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Aug 15 at 2016 12:30 AM

2016-08-15T00:30:44-04:00

From your public and private stories, SGT Private RallyPoint Member.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 15 at 2016 12:57 AM

2016-08-15T00:57:30-04:00

I'm sorry. I hit the publish button before I finished. I'll write something tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Aug 15 at 2016 5:59 AM

2016-08-15T05:59:12-04:00

Heard about it, some of the old guys in the unit talked about being there .

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 15 at 2016 2:39 PM

2016-08-15T14:39:54-04:00

http://dictionary.sensagent.com/1967%20Detroit%20riot/en-en/ 1967 Detroit Riot Website

I arrived back in the states in June, 1967 after a year long tour in Vietnam. I came home for four weeks, and then went to Fort Cambell, Kentucky. I was assigned to Co. B 3/187 infantry. We practiced riot control for about a week or two. I can't remember how long. We shipped out to Detroit, Michigan, where a racial riot, and burning, and looting was going on. We went to the Detroit fair grounds, and sat around and waited, doing nothing. There were a lot of poker games going on between the 101st and the 82nd divisions. The eventual overall winner was a 2nd LT. with the 82nd. I heard he bought a car and paid cash for it, and drove it back to Fort Bragg. Finally, we were sent to our AO, in a school basement. It was in the middle of the ghettos, and neighbors were constantly looking through their window blinds. Each team had to walk guard every night, in front of the school. We didn't know if we were going to be shot at, or fire bombed, or what might happen there.

One night my team was walking guard, and one of them came and got me. He was all excited and very nervous. He told me a car had gone past them several times, real slow, and the driver was looking all around. I told them, the next time it came by, to stop it with their weapons pointing at the driver. Sure enough, the next time he came back, he was stopped and made to get out of the car. It had no markings on it but the driver said he was a taxi driver, looking for a customer to pick up. I told him its way past the 2300 curfew and to get back in the car and leave the area, and don't come back.

Our main assignment was to ride in a Jeep, with an M-60 mounted on it, and follow the police around the neighborhoods. The lead police car was the chief and a couple more cops. We did that a couple of nights with no problems. We heard an auto weapon firing somewhere in the city. We found out that the rioters had taken an .50 cal machine gun from the NG, and were hold up in a warehouse. Supposedly a 1st LT. from the 82nd brought his own .50 Cal and after he fired a few rounds in the warehouse, the rioters gave up.
The next night we were patrolling a neighborhood and shots rang out from a house. The M-60 gunner laid down a burst into the house and three guys came running out of the house and ran through the backyards, with us in chase. All of a sudden their feet went up in the air and they fell to the ground. We were on them like stink on you know what. They had clothes lined themselves and were in a little bit of pain, but ok. We turned them over to the police chief and went back and got in our vehicles. We didn't drive very far and the police car stopped. The chief came back to our jeep and whispered something to our PL. He got out and told us to stay where we were.

The police took the three men out of the car, and took them into an alley behind, what looked like a hotel. We heard three shotgun blasts, and just sat there looking at each other. The cops and our PL came out. Our PL leader told us we didn't see anything, we didn't hear anything, and to keep our fucking mouths shut, and forget about it. After the riots, we went back to Fort Cambell, and I was assigned to A Co.1st Bn 505thInfantry at Fort Bragg, NC. I was there until Dec. 3, 1967.

After I got out of the Army, I tried to keep myself busy so I wouldn't have time to think about anything that happened in Vietnam or in the states. I tried putting it all behind me for years and years, until I had a mental breakdown at work. That was in 1999. I was severely depressed, and crying all the time, but couldn't put my finger on why I was that way. In 2000 I went to the VA and was dignosed with PTSD and severe depression. I went through the six month PTSD program, and while I was there, my memories came flooding back. I thought about Vietnam, and after I came home, and the three teenaged boys resurfaced. I couldn't stop thinking about them. So in 2001, I looked up the riots on my PC, and the three teenagers were listed as killed during the riots, in a shootout at the Algeirs Motel. That was a lie! I got really upset when I read that. I was thinking I had to do something to make it right for the teenagers and their families. I began by trying to contact any black organizations in Detroit I could, and tell them about what really happened. They weren't interested, and told me that was too long ago, and most of those people were probably dead by now. I called the Detroit FBI, but they weren't interested either. I called the NAACP, and was told they would call me back. I never heard from them. I called them back, but to no avail. I was looking at the different websites that had information about the riots and found a site where the author had written, the deaths of those three boys was suspicious. He asked if anyone had information, or were there, to send him an EMAIL. I did, twice. I never heard back from him.

I know I'll go to my grave with this, but until then, I'll tell my story to anyone who wants to hear it. The lists of the three boys deaths is below.

One more item I left out. The gunshots were fired from a BLANK starter pistol.

Killed after a group of policemen and National Guardsmen stormed the Algiers Motel in search of snipers. Aubrey Pollard Black 19 July 26, 1967
Carl Cooper Black 17 July 26, 1967 Killed with Pollard at the Algiers Motel.
Fred Temple Black 18 July 26, 1967 Killed in the Algiers Motel.

1967 Detroit riot : definition of 1967 Detroit riot and synonyms of 1967 Detroit riot (English)

Definitions of 1967 Detroit riot, synonyms, antonyms, derivatives of 1967 Detroit riot, analogical dictionary of 1967 Detroit riot (English)