TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
as they pursued their collegiate degrees. Battiste earned a B.S. degree in business administration at the age of 19. His plan to enter the United States Army was delayed due to his age. In 1951, he was one of twenty-seven members of the first commissioning class at South Caro- lina State College; and when activated in January of 1952, he completed the Associate Infantry Company Officers Course and received his first military assignment. As an infantry officer in the Regular United States Army, Second Lieuten- ant Battiste began his military career in Hokkaido, Japan, where among other duties he taught skiing and trained in mountain climbing. In his first year, he was awarded the “Domain of the Golden Dragon” and earned promotion to First Lieutenant. The following year he joined the 24 th Infantry Division in Korea at the end of the Korean War and was one of only four surviving members of his com- missioning class. Future assignments included the 34 th Infantry Regiment in Bamberg, Germany, a tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Conflict, the Presidio in California, and Command and General Staff College, all of which earned consistent recogni- tion and promotion through the ranks. One of many noteworthy achieve- ments was Lt. Col. Battiste’s selection as the first Professor of Military Science at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) with the responsibility of organizing and developing the Senior Division of the Reserve Officers’ Train- ing Corps. He establish the program in 1930s era gymnasium and converted the aged facility into a functional classroom and training facility. The program saw early success and recognition when its inaugural class was doubled by the incoming class for the following year. Lt. Col. Battiste was assigned a second tour of duty in Vietnam after his time at UAPB, serving as a Chief Advisor at MACV Headquarters working on the Cambodia situation. After completing his last assignment at Fort MacPherson in GA, Lt. Col. Battiste retired from the United States Army in 1972. He was
bestowed the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Vietnamese Medal of Honor, Air Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Bronze Star. He worked in the federal govern- ment employment as a financial analyst with the Health, Education and Welfare Administration followed military service for the next 24 years before full and final retirement from the workforce. Brother Alfonza B. Battiste is preceded in death by his parents, daughters Andrea (Noni) Battiste-Langston and Ava C. Battiste-Watkins and son Anton “Toby” Battiste. He is survived by his wife Annie Joyce (née Knight) Battiste, daughter Arienne, his six grandchil- dren: Chinue B. Dawkins (Randall), A. Shashuweni Battiste, Kimanthi M. Bat- tiste, Adenike Battiste, Anwar Watkins (Arsha), and A. Mariah Watkins-Car- ruthers (Asa); 11 great-grandchildren; siblings: Nancy Battiste Davis, Theodore Battiste (Joan), Jack O. Battiste (Sche- litta), John W. Battiste, Auggeretto M. Battiste, and Keith Battiste (Joyce); and numerous nieces and nephews.
Emporia State College) in Emporia, KS and his PhD from the University of Mis- souri-Kansas City. Dr. Beasley began his teaching career at Sumner High School, Kansas City, KS where for 12 years he taught American History, directed plays and served as an assistant basketball and football coach. In 1968 he established a Black studies program at Penn Valley Community Col- lege. He retired in 1993 as chairman of the college’s Social Science Department. He also taught at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, MO. He also served a consultant to General Motors and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. He was a mem- ber of Kansas City (MO) Alumni Chap- ter of Kappa Alpha Psi and Friends of Yates Branch, YMCA. Dr. Beasley was a past national president of the Associa- tion for the Study of African American Life and History and vice president and board member of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. From 1968-1974, Dr. Beasley wrote and narrated the ground-breaking televi- sion and radio series “Black History,” which aired on more than 65 stations in the United States and on the American Forces Overseas Network. He founded and was executive director of the Black Motivation Training Center in Kansas City, KS, which trained more than 3,500 persons in banking, sales, secretarial work, printing and data processing. In 1986 he developed the Black Trivia Game and in 2000 was inducted into the Mid-American Education Hall of Fame. The recipient of numerous honors and awards, the City of Kansas City, Kansas officially proclaimed June 3, 2012 “Dr. Edward Beasley Day.” He was preceded in death by his devoted wife of 64 years, Bessie (née Chandler) Beasley; his parents; his sister, Katie Wilson; brothers, Sylvester (Jack) and Richard Beasley. Dr. Edward Beasley is survived by son, Edward III (Jenny); daughters, Debra (Glen) Brown; Dolores Beasley and Donna (Richard) Brown; his nine grandchildren, four great-grand- children, and a host of relatives, friends, colleagues, and former students.
Edward Beasley, Jr., Ph.D. 1932–2019 Educator, Histo- rian, Civic Leader Edward Beasley, Jr. (Alpha Mu 1952) entered the Chap- ter Invisible on
September 6, 2019 at the age of 87 in Surprise, AZ. He was born June 3, 1932 in Omaha, NB to the late Edward Sr., and Vesta Sanders Beasley. He gradu- ated from Omaha’s Central High School where he obtained the rank of Sergeant First Class in Junior ROTC and com- manded the Color-Bearing Unit for all military parades. He later was honor- ably discharged from the Army Corps of Engineers as a First Lieutenant. He earned his B.A. degree in history at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. He later earned M.A. degree at Kansas State Teachers College (now
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