I <37* Newcomer Winston ma By AUDREY WILLIAMS Chronicle Staff Writer In every city she's ever been in, 31-year-old Toni Tupponce says she had an opportunity to put down roots, but something always pulled her awav *- mostly employment or education. A longtime attraction to Winston-Salem pulled her away from the N.C. Department of Transportation in Raleigh when she took Jim Crews, her present supervisor, up on the offer to become a transportation planner for the city of Winston-Salem nine months ago. "Working for the state was not a goal for me," says Tupponce. "Getting my master's was." With various interruptions to deal with, it took the North Carolina Central graduate near ly four years to find the time to complete her master's tiegree in regional transportation at the University of North CaTolina at Chapel Hill. A three-year employment stint in South Carolina put a halt to her studies until she was offered a job with the state of North Carolina. While working in Raleigh, Tupponce completed her degree. "As soon as I got my degree," she says, "I started looking again tfor another job)." . Jim Ritchie, manager of the Winston-Salem ^ Transist Authority and an acquaintance of the West Point, Va., native, contacted her and a ?2X51/ BV Mike Campbe I 7 S I 1/ I SlAflHqt " QK?wq "4 I q ba*h cjfth a Pubt>te J -! li^^&L Young & Gifted Fourteen-year-old Mike Campbell's ar nothing else will do (photo by James Pi Black Medal < By GERRTTAYtOR , Department of The Army ^ ! CHICAGO -- From the smokey fields of the to the sweaty jungles of Vietnam, black sol foueht lone and hard for their ennntrv. multitude of battles, 55 of them earned th< highest decoration for heroism ? the Medal o Sgt. William H. Carney, a union solider ir War, became the first black to be awarded the f Honor after his heroic actions at the battl Wagner, S.C., in* 1863. While advancing toward the gates of the fort unit. Company C of the 54th Colored Infantry, barded by musket fire and shells, killing or men left to right. One of the wounded was bearer. But before the flag touched the groun seized it and made his way to the front of the c< it retreated. Still hampered by enemy fire, he continued h the rear, all the time clutching the flag. Bullets the chest and leg, and another soldier treated h As they moved on again, another bullet graze< head. When the other soldier offered to tak< Carney refused, saying, "No one but a mem 54th should carry the flag." Later, as Carney carried the regimental flag his comrades cheered at the sight of him. Car proudly and said simply, "The flag never tc ground, boys." Seventeen black soldiers received the Medal during the Indian Campaigns. Five others rc ? e?Mag& y be the place f< network began between the two. By February of last year, eight months after completing her thesis, Tupponce says she was offered the position here. "I always said if I were to settle in North ^aiunna, n wouia nave to De here," she says. "I've always loved the Piedmont." In fact, Tupponce, who is single, likes the area so much that she has purchased a home in Winston. ^ * "I made a bit of a commitment when 1 "There's a growing political awareness here as far as black folks are concerned and that intrigues me.... " ? Toni Tupponce bought mv home." she savs, "so 1 guess I'm sunk for a while." She says she's had other offers to go elsewhere, but a magnetic attraction to the arts * and a progressive city kept her from doing so. Putting down roots in Winston-Salem hasn't really occurred to her, she says, despite the fact that she's now a city taxpayer. But she says planting herself here permanently is a possibility. "I don't have anybody really but me," Tupponce says, "so I can go where I want to go. Nobody is counting on my paycheck but me. "If my absolute goal was to be in Atlanta 01 < * -Jr w ?? IwS* .. > nbition In life is to become an accompl arker). af Honor winnc medal tor their actions in the Spanis But not until 1950 did another blat Medal of Honor. Pfc. William Thompson, a memt ,VI ar 24th Regiment, 25th Infantry Divi i ers ave ^|ack to be awarded the medal duri Within a njc( e nation s f Honor. On Aug. 6, 1950, Thompson and tl i the Civil came under fire by enemy forces neat ? Medal of set up his machine gun and fired on t e oi rort their advance enough so part ot his cover from exploding grenades and , Carney's __________________ , was bomwounding "Seventeen black soldiers the color Medal of Honor during id, Carney Campaigns. Five others ompan> as medal for their actions in lis night to American W hit him in is wounds. i Carney's Badly wounded by grenade ar e the flag, Thompson refused to leave his static ber of the ing at the enemy as his comrades re' silenced when he was mortally woun into camp, grenade. ney smiled As the nation's soldiers struggled >uched the War, Sfc. William M. Bryant was th the United States' higest military av i oi Honor Bryant earned the Medal ol Hoi rceived the commanding officer of Civilian Irrei * i zine Sec or Tupponce Manhattan by the time I was 35, I would have made that move by now," she says. Noting that she had not actively sought f>mnlr*vmont in U/inc?/,n CnUw. T,, ? ^ ^ vnipivj IIIVIU 111 m.Muii-oaicni, I U^^UlltC says, "... I didn't seek Winston, but this city appealed to me." ? It is apparent that Tupponce is also impressed with the city's black community, but she sees the problems, too. "There's a growing political awareness here as far as black folks are concerned," she says, . "and that7 intrigues me. I've always liked politics, but I haven't ever considered running for office." To Tupponce, the black religious community, which she says has always been a very important part of her life, is stronger than any she's ever seen, citing some of Winston's politicaliy^acUv&xhurch leaders as proof. But, she adds, "I've not done a whole lot of 1 delving at this point, but there appears to be a lot of arenas that we as a (black) community have yet to take advantage of." Those arenas, she says, include the arts, Winston-Salem State University, black i > businesses and the electoral process that helped i elect the city's four black aldermen. "Those are the avenues," says Tupponce, "but out of all those avenues, 1 really don't feel , a strong sense of community here. "It seems to me that with a unified communi- 1 Please see page B9 \ Artist sh By AUDREY WILLIAMS Chronicle Staff Writer Mrs. Alma Campbell thin! I son, Michael, went out and gc chiding has been No, Mike Isn't lazy. He jus thing in life that appeals to Y "Til tell him, 4Mike, go an ^^B Mrs. Campbell, who is also tl sor^' "anc* te" me' ^or \ Since he has his mind made wants him to pursue his aspi using all the necessary chann< get the exposure Mike is gettii V a cartoon'st al such a young a is featured on the Chrome! A lot of cartoonists come characters from either child he ,:.f oranai, an inquismve nine i Walker's Hi and l.ois, but froi tually patterned after Mike's r , "I just like watching her,' because if she doesn't like so she'll just throw it down." As a ninth-grade honor sti ished artist and Mike has often been called assistance with classroom bull< irs have served ti h-Amei Lean War. :k soldier receive the . >er of Company M, ision, was the first ng the Korean Con Haman. Thompson platoon gunfire. received the the Indian the the Jfk >n and continued fir- I treated. His gun was I ided by an exploding HBBMI through the Vietnam Winston-Salem native La e latest black to earn Army veteran, earned /ard. decoration for bravery, t nor while serving as his service In Vietnam. Jc gular Defense Group coma two weeks ago. * ?? I ??? ???????? ?? J Section B February 16, 1984 |gfr\ 9 * . # ^^ygig?' 1 ?L9Bfl?V A fl^^t a la^HIHH&^ v: .-^SK^pl V ^?'s^Nfljdr9Pc -^mm * >l^fl^9 V ^ /flKflp||jji|H|j^fl^^^^^^^^flH|^fl|^^^aBl w wifl^ fl^i a\ik ^fl IP B^ od or just out of the blue, grade sketching. 3aby girl, similar to Mort 44It really doesn't bother me that he likes to draw," she m a black perpesctive, is ac- says. "When he was smaller, he used to doodle and waste eal-life baby cousin, whose a lot of paper and it would be all over his bedroom floor when he would wake up in the morning, says Mike. "She's funny "But he loves it and now he's into drawing these weird, mething, she won't eat it; way-out pictures," says Mrs. Campbell, giving a puzzled look at one of her son's fantasy sketches, ident at Hill High School, Many of Mike's ideas come from one of the many upon by teachers for his action-packed comic books, such as "Heavy Metal" and nin boards, but his greatest Please see page B9 heir country well H Company 32<4, 2nd. Battalion, 3rd Mobile Strike Force Command in the Long Khanh Province. On March 24. I 1969, Bryant's battalion came under heavy fire and was suddenly surrounded by enemy regiments. While exposed to enemy fire many times during the attack, Bryant scrambled back and forth among his company's positions giving out ammunition, helping the wounded and direc ting return fire. During a break in the attack, Bryant led a group of his men outside the perimeter to gather informantion the enemy. When the patrol was pinned down by intense automatic weapons fire, Bryant singlehandedly fought off the enemy, inspiring the rest of the platoon to fend off continued attacks. In the midst of the enemy's deadly assault, Bryant regrouped his men and attempted to break through the enemy circle. Moving forward about 200 meters, the men r were again pinned down by heavy fire; this time Bryant was severly wounded. Regardless, he assembled his men and radioed for a helicopter gunship attack on the enemy I position. nWhen the choppers had gone, Bryant charged and overran an enemy position, killing its three defenders. Then, while regrouping his men for a final assault, Bryant was mortally wounded by an enemy rocket. Bryant was one of 15 black soldiers receiving the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. wrence Joel, a 23-year From these examples of black soldiers answering their the nation s highest country's call to arms, and giving themselves beyond the he Medal of Honor, for call of duty, today's soldier, regardless of racial origin, >e! died from a diabetic can point with pride and confidence to the triumph of the human spirit during combat.