Walter Howard Loving, February 1945

Colonel Walter Howard Loving is presumed to have been beheaded by the Japanese military at Rizal Park in Manila, Phillipines during the liberation of the city of Manila. His story is remarkable. Born to slave parents in December 1872, he became a talented musician who could play all wind instruments, joined the United States Army and Filipino Army, and lead a Constabulary band made up of Filipinos in Manila that received international acclaim. Fluent in two languages, and well respected as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army he struggled with "double consciousness" having written army intelligence reports on dealing with "Negroes". He later sought better treatment and success by moving his family overseas to the Phillipines and achieved a higher rank in the Filipino military as a Colonel and a bandleader of the Phillipines' Constabulary. He and his wife were later held hostage by the invading Japanese military in the liberation of Manila, but his wife was able to escape when Japanese soldiers tried to recapture fleeing hostages. Unfortunately, Walter H, Loving lost his life along with other prisoners in February 1945.

John Earl Reese, October 22, 1955

16-year-old teenager John Earl Reese was one of three people shot by local Klansmen in Mayflower, Texas on October 22, 1955. Known to others as being a happy and fun loving youngster, his murder which occurred while he was out dancing at a local cafe called the Hughes Cafe continues to haunt many who seek justice. The killers Joe Simpson, 21, and Perry Dean Ross, 22, drove by the Hughes Cafe with the intent to “make a raid” because they wanted to teach “uppity blacks” a lesson. Ross’s lawyer would later say in court that Ross, “wanted to scare somebody and keep the n—rs and the whites from going to school together.”

Virgil Lamar Ware, September 15, 1963

Virgil Lamar Ware was a cute, little innocent 13-year-old who was shot while riding his bike by racist, hate filled teenagers who had finished attending a segregationist rally in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963.