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Arrival at the Depot
Arrival at the Depot
One of Commanding Officer Harold J. Preble's personal achievements was the coordination of a program with the Fort Warren Army Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that brought soldiers to the Depot. For one week during a six-week training program, troops from the Quartermaster Training Companies (QMTCs) traveled to the Sioux Ordnance Depot to act as munitions handlers. These QMTCs were often made up of Black soldiers. By November 1943, the first QMTCs of Black troops arrived to train in Sidney and began working at the Depot.
Troops from the Quartermaster Training Companies at Fort Warren, 1944. [1]
Community Interactions
Community Interactions
Some military installations in Nebraska employed African Americans, but racial tensions still appeared in these communities. For some rural Nebraska communities, segregation was not a familiar topic, mostly because there were not large Black populations in the area. However, some residents believed their communities came to understand segregation because of military installations. Evidence suggests that segregation existed in some forms at the Dpeot during the construction phase, as there were separate camps and USO events for African American workers. Further evidence of segregation has not yet been found.
Cheyenne County did not have many Black families, but the 1940 Census indicates that at least a few lived here. Unfortunately, most of the local news about African Americans was not always positive. Many newspaper articles reported the trouble that the soldiers and other Blacks got into. One of the most remembered incidents was the murder of one Black soldier by another.
Some of the Depot's former employees also remembered the African American soldiers as being a rambunctious group of people. Memories of these soldiers often highlight the trouble they got into.
Kathleen Edwards remembered the Black soldiers at the Depot from her work as a secretary in the Ordnance Office. She shares her memories in the clip below.
Edwards_Black QMTCs Interview.mp3Click here to view a transcript of the audio clip
Nevertheless the Black QMTC troops greatly helped the Depot's war effort through their ammunition handling. They even formed good connections with the community through entertainment and performances.
"Negro Troops Put on Entertaining Program at Soo Ordnance Depot," Telegraph, November 25, 1943.
"Sioux Troops Give Program," Telegraph, December 30, 1943.
"Program is Given by Troops at Soo Depot," Telegraph, January 13, 1944.
Howard Jacobs, "Warren Performs Double Duty of Training EM and Providing for Own Needs," Fort Warren Sentinel (Cheyenne, WY), July 21, 1944. [2]
The work the African American soldiers from the QMTCs did helped to keep the Depot running. Slowly, the amount of time the Ft. Warren soldiers spent at the Depot increased from one week of training to two. The significance of the troops' contributions were even recognized by Fort Warren.
Eventually, they spent up to six weeks training at the Depot. But because they were only supposed to train at the Depot for a week at a time, Preble and the Personnel Division knew they needed more help to fill open positions.
Impact of Employment
Impact of Employment
Despite their incredible contributions between 1943 and 1944, the commanding officer at Ft. Warren decided to pull the Quartermaster Training Companies from the Depot. Although the available records do not indicate that any of these soldiers decided to remain or return to the Depot, in the post-war era, there were still some African American families living in the Depot housing area.
While the 1950 Census indicates the presence of only a few Black families, the memories of the youth who grew up in Ordville remember the diversity of the neighborhood. Lupe Torres shares his memories of some of the people of color who lived in Ordville below.
Torres_POC Ordville Interview.mp3Click here to view a transcript of the audio clip
Conclusion
Conclusion
However small the number, people of color continued to work at the Depot. The contributions of the Quartermaster Training Companies allowed the Depot to remain open and provided opportunities for other people of color to obtain jobs at the Depot in the post-war era.
Visit the Fort Sidney Museum and Post Commander's Home to view the Sioux Army Depot exhibit and learn more about this history!
Endnotes
Endnotes
[1] “There are Almost Enough Hash Marks,” Fort Warren Sentinel, July 14, 1944.
[2] Howard Jacobs, “Warren Performs Double Duty of Training EM and Providing for Own Needs,” Fort Warren Sentinel (Cheyenne, WY), July 21, 1944.
Published: January 15, 2025 Last Updated: January 15, 2025
Author: Tatiana Moore Painter, UNK Graduate Student
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