Honoring veterans: In Memoriam

Originally published May 31, 2021

Photo Caption: Members honored past commanders and the history of the Banks-Miller Post 255 at a Commanders Ball in April 2011. Pictured (L to R) Bruce Cross, Sr., Herman Carr, Jr., John Neely, Sr., Delos Marshall, Robert Henderson, Ray Richardson, Sylvester Holt.{Contributed Photo}

For long-time member Bruce Cross and the brethren of American Legion Post 255, the historic building on Arthur Drive houses noteworthy memories of history, culture and service. In name and deed, Lexington’s first African-American post honors the legacy of soldiers who returned from war, sought equal treatment and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for love of God and Country.

Chartered by the American Legion in 1946 at a time when the US military struggled through the pangs of a second World War and segregated homeland, African-American soldiers fought for the right to serve equally. The original naming of Post 255 honors the heroics of US Navy seaman Doris "Dorie" Miller, a cook commended for his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Although Miller was not trained as a gunman, he was a crewman aboard the West Virginia when Japanese aircraft dropped bombs through the deck of the battleship killing key gunmen. Miller took control of the ship’s Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine gun. “He wasn’t a gunman, they kept Blacks in menial positions then, but he shot down two Japanese planes,” Cross added. Miller’s story became a tool for recruitment of soldiers and Miller was the first African-American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the third highest honor from the US Navy at the time.

The original post’s groundbreaking took place a few years after the charter thanks to the work of James Smith, LM Lockhart, John Bradshaw, Sam Hargrave, John (Woody) Neely. Cross was honored to serve as commander at a ceremony that presented two of the surviving founding members, Delos Marshall and his father-in-law, John Neely. Throughout the years, members of Post 255 have provided significant contributions to the statewide American Legion. Neely, according to Cross, was one of the first African-Americans to hold a state office with the North Carolina American Legion as Sergeant at Arms. In 1966, members of the post voted to add the name of Richard Banks, a Lexington native killed during his service in the Army during the Vietnam War. Thus arose the name Banks-Miller Post 255. A 14x20 picture of Richard Banks remains in the corridors of the building. 

Cross, a Lexington native who graduated from Dunbar High School in 1967, joined the service one year later. He spent four years in the US Air Force and 21 years in the Air National Guard where he retired as a Master Sergeant. He served in Washington DC, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Vancouver and Washington State to name a few.  One of his most meaningful assignments during his time in the National Guard was working in personnel and serving as First Sergeant for young men and women being deployed overseas. Upon retirement, Cross settled in Lexington, North Carolina with a career at PPG, his wife, Robbie Neely Cross, and two children, Bruce Cross, Jr. and Kenya Pierce. Seeing young men and women deployed is part of the reason Cross continues his father-in-law’s legacy at Post 255. “It’s a place veterans can go and congregate,” he offered. “Most of the time when veterans get together we talk about old times, places we have been and so forth.”