Description

Alfonso Tyree Day was born on March 21, 1919, in Washington, D.C., to Terry P. and Virginia Thompson Day. Alfonso grew up in Washington, D.C., where his father worked as a chauffeur between 1920 and 1930, and as a store clerk by 1940. Alfonso Day reportedly wanted to be a soldier from an early age. During high school, he participated in the Junior Reserve Officers� Training Corps (JROTC), and attended Citizens� Military Training Camps (CMTC) at Fort Howard, Maryland, during his summer vacations. Upon his high school graduation, he attempted to join the 10th Cavalry Regiment, a segregated African-American unit of the U.S. Army, but was told that the unit was at capacity and there was no space for him. Instead, Day joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a public work relief program that was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt�s New Deal. He worked in a CCC camp for six months. Day went on to attend Howard University, where he participated in the college�s Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). While a student at Howard, Day was called into active duty in the U.S. Army on March 10, 1941. He was inducted into service at Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he was assigned to the 372nd Infantry Regiment, a federalized African-American National Guard regiment. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the United States� entrance into World War II, Day�s regiment was sent to New York City. While in New York, the unit performed security duties until...

Record Contributed By

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

Record Harvested From

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center