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On Memorial Day, I am left to ponder the life of my uncle Cpl. Carl Chavis.

Carl died a hero during World War II in the Moselle River Crossing on Sept. 11, 1944.

His 23 years were full of accomplishments that defined him well before his death.

Carl’s Purple Heart, Bronze Star and European-African-Middle-Eastern Theatre Campaign medal, along with three AAU Gold Buckles, the flag that once covered his coffin, the many pictures of him, the many newspaper clippings about him, and a YMCA named in his honor, are among his accomplishments.

Even though members of the Chavis clan share his DNA, God chose to bless him with that something extra that few have, and that science has been unable to define.

Upon his death in 1944, the black community decided to name the YMCA after Carl. He was the most beloved and respected student when he attended William Penn High School and the first black soldier from High Point reportedly killed during World War II.

Even though you hear the name Carl Chavis Memorial YMCA, few people know the why and how the Y got its name. Even fewer know about the man himself.

Only a handful of people know what happened to Carl between when he left William Penn and his death in 1944.

Upon graduation from Penn, Carl attended Morgan State College in Baltimore on a football scholarship. He helped lead the school to the CIAA football title in 1942. Even though Carl loved football and all its glory, he could not resist the call to volunteer to fight for his country.
This is another reason Carl was so beloved — country before fame and money.

The ultimate recognition took place years later at Morgan State, where he only spent a little over a year. Headline in the Nov. 22, 1952, Afro Magazine section of the Afro-American newspaper: “Morgan State College Honors Its War Heroes — Bronze Relief In Praise of Corporal Carl Chavis, 800 Other Servicemen Who Fought in World War II, Will Hang In School’s Memorial Refectory.”

After spending such a short period of time at Morgan, why was Carl chosen out of 800 men as the figure in the center of this bronze memorial? Another example of how beloved Carl was.

Here are some key points from an article than ran in the Afro-American newspaper in 1952.

• The bronze relief reads, ”Eight Hundred Men of Morgan State Fought against Exploitation, Oppression, and Terror ... That Out of War, Freedom Might Sooner Become the Heritage of All Men.”
• The panel on the right states: “Carl Harrison Chavis — Cpl. U.S. Army Chem Corps. Hero of the Moselle Crossing — killed Sept. 11, 1944, by enemy fire while crossing the Moselle River for the third time in a boat — as a volunteer he carried vital material to lay a smoke screen which made possible the construction of a bridge — his heroic effort inspired his associates.”
• The relief shows Carl Chavis when he steps into an open boat to cross the Moselle with oil tanks and a carbine strapped to his back and other smoke screen material visible in the boat.

The memorial display lists the Morgan men who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II:

• Cpl. Carl Harrison Chavis, ’46: Freshman 1941-42, Star Football Player killed in action, France, Sept. 11, 1944.
• Lt. Fernand E.P. Pecou: chairman of the Romance Languages Department, killed while fighting with the free French forces in North Africa.
• Lt. Albert Cephas, ’38
• Lt. Paul W. Taylor, ’34
• Cpl. Leo Ayers ’37
• Pvt. Robert Smith, ’46
• Pvt. Hayes H. Allen, ’43
• Alva Benjamin Johnson, ’32, U.S. Navy, killed in Pacific Battleship action

On Jan. 16, 1951, $10,000 was set aside by the Board of Public Works for this relief.

“Associates of Cpl. Chavis, experts in the War Department and experts in the Signal Corps were consulted so as to be certain that the uniform, the carbine, and the oil tanks and helmet would be faithful in every detail to the equipment used by Corporal Chavis in the Moselle River battle,” the Afro-American reported.

The relief was included in the plans for the school’s Memorial Dining Hall as far back as 1946 and dedicated in about 1954. The relief was on display at this site until the school decided to build a new dining hall.

We lost track of the memorial after the new dining hall was built.
For many years, we have asked Morgan graduates about the location of the relief. Most knew nothing about it, and others had no idea what happened to it. Ed Williams, then the News & Record’s High Point editor, called the school, but no one got back to him with an answer.

Finally, I met Keith G. Pemberton, a Morgan State graduate who knew nothing about the plaque but was willing to look into the matter. Within months, Keith got an email from a Deborah Johnson-Simon from Morgan State’s Office of Museums, letting him know the plaque is located “on a prominent wall on the campus ROTC/Armory Building on the main campus of Morgan State University.”

This is truly a beautiful bronze relief memorializing the 800 Morgan men who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It makes the Chavis family proud to know Carl was beloved by so many during and after his life.

Thanks Morgan State for this wonderful tribute.

Glenn Chavis researches and writes about High Point’s black history. Contact him at Storytime40@aol.com