The Fixer
By Renissa Gannie
Herman Berry
September 2, 1920 - February 12, 2008
Herman Berry on the left with two of his brothers. Taken from the Berry Family Album
Uncounted African Americans have given their lives for liberty and justice over the course of the history of the United States. They have fought for the United States of America dating back to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and all the wars that have since followed. Yet they have also been isolated from society and treated unfairly. However, for many African Americans, the United States Army provided a chance to enhance their lives. Although segregated for much of its history, the Army provided jobs and opportunities that many African Americans would not otherwise have had. In the Army, men were paid equally according to their rank rather than the color of their skin. Race relations are still "a work in progress" in American society. After the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans were forced to live in segregated communities and faced Jim Crow laws that were designed to subjugate them. However, extraordinary strides were made by ordinary men and women who braved the inequality and injustice by fighting for their fundamental human rights. Organized sit-ins, protests, marches on Washington, DC, successful lawsuits paved the way for desegregation and civil rights.[1]
Herman Berry in his repairman uniform. Taken from the Berry Family Album
Herman Berry grew up in a society that was segregated, and he served the country he loved under the banner of segregation. Although Herman saw the way society unjustly treated African Americans, he rose above the discriminations and prejudices attached to his race and him as an African American man. Herman carried on his family’s legacy of an ingrained love and loyalty for the military and his country. His father was a veteran of World War One, and his brothers all served in the United States military. His father-in-law and his brother-in-law also served in the United States Army.[2] The legacy is one of honor, courage, kindness, and hard work and he instilled these values in his children and grandchildren. As children look back on their parents and grandparents, they often do not realize that they were heroes. For the Berry family, their father and grandfather was one such a man.
Herman Berry was born the seventh child and the seventh son to George and Catherine "Katie" Johnson Berry on September 2, 1920, in Neosha Falls, Kansas.[3] He enlisted in the United States Army when he was twenty-one years of age in 1943,[4] following in the footsteps of his father, who was a veteran of World War One and his brothers, who were all members of the United States Army. He was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, where his first duty was taking care of horses. Herman went on to become a Technician Fifth Grade in the Army. A Technician Fifth Grade or Tec Corporal is a person who held specialized skills that were utilized by the United States Military.[5] Herman Berry worked as a quartermaster for the laundry corps and his duty was to remove the blood from the sheets at the Army Field Hospital. He worked at the field hospitals in Germany, Normandy, and England. For his exceptional service, Herman Berry was awarded the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five bronze stars and the Good Conduct Medal.[6]
Herman Berry: Thrifty Auto Repair. Herman first on left back row. Circa 1955, Five Points, Denver, Colorado. Taken from the Berry family album.
After being honorably discharged from the military in 1945, Herman Berry returned to Kansas, where he met and fell in love with Lucille Harvell. They were married on July 13, 1947, and three years later moved to Denver, Colorado, where Lucille's parents were living.[7] The military shaped Herman Berry by giving him proficiencies and adaptability to do any job, and he utilized the skills he learned to find employment. In Denver, Herman Berry worked for the United States Air Force Accounting and Finance Center at the Lowry Air Force base for more than thirty-five years as an auto mechanic and maintenance repairman.[8] At the same time, he was working for the Air Force, Herman partnered with his best friend Lewis Edward Miles, and they opened an auto repair shop called Thrifty Auto Repair in Five Points. Herman worked his full-time job during the day and repaired cars at night at his shop.[9] While working two jobs, he somehow found time to attend the Mid-West Trades School, where he completed his Diploma for Auto Mechanics, Wheel Alignment and Brakes, Cooling, Lubrication and Fuel System, Engines, Power Train, and Auto Electricity. In addition, Herman worked for the Fort Logan Hospital as a Radiological Defense Technician.[10] The hours in a day were never short for Herman as he also was a member of the Masonic Order, often participating in charitable functions such as fixing cars for people. In reviewing documents of old receipts from Thrifty Auto Repair, it was found that Herman would sometimes charge one single dollar to fix and overhaul an entire car.[11] For those who knew Herman, this generosity was not surprising.
Herman was known as Grampy to his neighbors and his community because he was everyone's "grandfather." If there was a problem, everyone would go to Grampy for a solution. In his spare time, he loved fixing things. He was the person everyone turned to for help with their cars, their lawns, their houses, or anything at all that needed "fixing." Herman was extremely passionate about cars and could often tell you the how’s and why’s a car was damaged. Herman's passion and the skill for understanding the workings of cars made attorneys seek him out as a witness in trials. Herman had a love for automobiles and daughter Marleen recalls her Dad seemed to hurt if a car was destroyed. Herman's children also recalled their father as a great "fixer," because not only could he fix machines, but it seemed there was no problem or issue he would not handle. His daughter Joyce recalls her father as the man that influenced her in her life choices and as a great disciplinarian.[12]
As a person, Herman was a quiet man who enjoyed traveling with his family. He was a "man's man" as he was always tinkering with an engine or working on his house. He was an avid fan of the Denver Broncos, loved going fishing in his R.V., riding his Harley, and playing basketball.[13]
Herman Berry was a man of many talents. He lived his life with kindness towards others; he loved his wife and family and strived to make them happy and successful. Throughout his life, Herman Berry had one axiom "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and he lived by that code until his last breath. Herman died at the age of 87 on February 12, 2008.[14] His loss is still felt by his children Velma Blue, Herman Berry Jr, Marlene Williams and Joyce Berry Wright, his grandchildren, and his many friends.
Footnote ↓
[1] Christopher Paul Moore, Fighting for America : Black Soldiers-- the Unsung Heroes of World War II (New York: Presidio Press/Ballantine Books, 2006); Mary L Dudziak, Cold War Civil Rights : Race and the Image of American Democracy (Princeton(N.J.) ; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2011).
[2] Berry JR, Joyce Berry, and Marlene Berry, Life of Herman Berry, interview by Renissa Gannie, DU, VLP, July 20, 2020; Herman Berry Sr," Find A Grave, accessed on August 13, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com; U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, accessed on August 13, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[3] Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925, accessed on August 12, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[4] U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Herman Berry, accessed on August 13, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[5] U.S. Army Rank Structure During WWII, accessed on August 13, 2020 WWII, https://wwiitracings.wordpress.com.
[6] Berry JR, Joyce Berry, and Marlene Berry, Life of Herman Berry, interview by Renissa Gannie, July 20, 2020; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Kansas, accessed July 22, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com; Evelyn Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee, And If I Perish : Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II, First Edition (New York: Anchor Books, 2004).
[7]Berry JR, Joyce Berry, and Marlene Berry, Life of Herman Berry, interview by Renissa Gannie, July 20, 2020; Kansas State Census, accessed on August 13, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[8] Berry JR, Joyce Berry, and Marlene Berry, Life of Herman Berry, interview by Renissa Gannie, July 20, 2020.
[9] Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, accessed on August 13, 2020, www.denverlibary,com; Berry JR, Joyce Berry, and Marlene Berry, Life of Herman Berry, interview by Renissa Gannie, July 20, 2020.
[10] Berry JR, Joyce Berry, and Marlene Berry, Life of Herman Berry, interview by Renissa Gannie, July 20, 2020.
[11]Ibid
[12] Berry JR, Joyce Berry, and Marlene Berry, Life of Herman Berry, interview by Renissa Gannie, July 20, 2020.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Colorado, Select County Death Records, 1986-2017, accessed on August 13, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com; National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans' Gravesites, accessed on August 13, 2020, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
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