Memphian, Vietnam vet graduates from LeMoyne-Owen, 51 years after finishing coursework

In 1973, Richard Williams completed all the coursework he needed to earn a degree from LeMoyne-Owen College. After being drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Vietnam, he had returned to Memphis safely and completed his education. But there was a problem. Williams owed the school $50 ― about $366 today ― and he needed to pay it before he could graduate.

This was money he didn’t have.

Williams had recently gotten married and had a son, and his budget was tight. He was looking for a job but planned to use any income he received to provide for his family, not graduate. Sending money to LeMoyne-Owen didn’t seem practical when he had a wife and child to support. So, Williams forwent graduation. It was an easy decision.

“With my family and working and all, I just didn’t think about it,” Williams said. “I was oftentimes just trying to make a living with my wife.”

He embarked on a career, and as the years went by, his time at LeMoyne-Owen moved farther into the backdrop. Williams didn’t expect to eventually graduate. But on Saturday, Williams received his degree at LeMoyne-Owen’s commencement ceremony, 51 years after completing his coursework. He was the oldest of the 108 graduates.

Going to Vietnam

Williams was born on Nov. 26, 1944, and grew up in South Memphis, with his parents, grandparents, and brothers.

“We were poor, but we didn’t know we were poor,” he said. “We had a lot of love in the family.”

Faith was a hallmark in the household, and during Williams’ childhood, his grandmother instilled in him the importance of trusting God. It was a lesson he took to heart, and Williams would tell himself, “God has got me” ― even when life grew difficult.

In the mid-1960s, Williams enrolled at S.A. Owen Junior College, and started studying to become an elementary school teacher. He had decided to go, in part, so he could avoid being drafted for the Vietnam War. It wasn’t that he was afraid. But he was busy in Memphis and had partaken in the Civil Rights Movement. He also felt, to an extent, that being forced overseas to fight in a war was an infringement of the rights he was standing up for.

“I had mixed feelings about going to Vietnam, period, because of the time we were in,” he said. “We were marching for our rights.”

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By enrolling as a college student, he could defer draft duty. But his plan wasn’t foolproof. Williams didn’t have parents bankrolling his education; he was paying his own way through school. Realizing he needed more funds to continue pursuing a degree, Williams left S.A. Owen to work, with the intention of saving money and returning to school.

Once he left, however, he was drafted. As Williams put it: “That’s when they got me.”

In 1969, he was shipped off to Vietnam, where he served as an army cook. Williams had to rise early, every morning, to prepare food for about 250 people.

Williams and the other troops were constantly weary of a potential attack and feared for their life every day. With their perimeter defenses still being put together, they felt particularly vulnerable ― and they were fortunate that an attack didn’t come until these protections were completed.

Despite all of this, Williams never wavered in his faith. He regularly prayed, asking God to keep him and his fellow soldiers safe. He also tried to do right by others. He had seen children searching through the garbage for something to eat. Rather than throw out the army camp’s leftover food, he gave it to them, so they could take it back to their families.

For Williams, it was a formative time.

“I saw life so much different over there,” he said. “I did a whole lot of maturing… in Vietnam.”

The EEOC and The Mad Lads

Williams returned to Memphis in late 1969; and not long after this, he returned to school, with a desire to finish what he had started before getting drafted. By this point, S.A. Owen had merged with LeMoyne College to become LeMoyne-Owen, and Williams enrolled at the institution.

But when he completed his coursework in 1973 and was told he owed the school $50, he decided to instead focus on finding work and providing for his family. Williams got a position in a veteran’s outreach division of the city government and helped veterans who had been unfairly given dishonorable discharges get their statuses changed to honorable discharges.

Then, in 1976, he landed a job as an investigator with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Williams investigated discrimination charges and enjoyed the work, and he held the job while simultaneously pursuing his passion for something else: music.

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Williams’ brother, John Gary Williams, was the lead singer for the Mad Lads and Williams started singing with them. This was a significant part of his life, and he recorded and performed an array of songs with the group.

But Williams’ work with The Mad Lads didn’t hamper his performance as an investigator with the EEOC. He recalled a memorable case from the late 1970s. There was a local company that never seemed to hire Black people, even though many applied for jobs.

Taking a close look at its hiring practices, Williams found that the person conducting job interviews labeled applications with a “one” and “two.” Black candidates’ forms seemed to always be the ones with the “two” on them ― which told Williams that the numbering was a way of filtering them out.

After this was reported, the company was required to change its hiring practices.

Williams remained with the EEOC until he retired, and the investigation is an example of the noble pursuits he undertook throughout his career. But he downplayed his own accomplishments and pointed to God.

“I attributed all that to God,” he said. “He guided me to all of that.”

'It's never too late'

He also referenced God when he discussed the chance to finally graduate ― God and his niece, Nikki Williams.

On Feb. 14, Williams came to LeMoyne-Owen to see a friend speak. Nikki works at the college as executive assistant to the vice president and provost, and she was walking on campus with her uncle when he mentioned to her that he was supposed to graduate in 1973.

"So did you get your degree?" she asked, surprised.

"No," he said.

She took him to the registrar's office to get things sorted out, and they arranged for him to graduate in the spring. Though 51 years had gone by, Williams had kept the documents showing he had enough credits to graduate.

On Saturday, he graduated and received his bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Initially, Williams wasn't over the moon about graduating. After all, more than five decades had passed, and it wasn’t something he had been concerned about. He built a successful career without the degree and has remained active, even in retirement. He leads the male chorus at Monumental Baptist Church, still performs with remaining Mad Lad members, and is anticipating the release of a holiday song he wrote and recorded, "This is How Christmas Feels."

It wasn't as if he needed to graduate. But as he saw how happy people were for him, he grew more excited about it.

His wife, Jessie, was excited as well. At first, she was surprised, and “tickled.” But she, like Williams, graduated at an unusual time in life; she earned her degree from The University of Memphis when she was 50. And she was glad to see her husband in a cap and gown.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s never too late.”

For Williams, the graduation also served as validation of the way he’s lived his life. Feeding fellow troops. Giving leftover food to hungry children. Praying for others. Helping veterans. Investigating discriminatory practices. Look closely, and you'll see a recurring theme.

“I’ve learned throughout my years, that it’s best to treat people the way you want to be treated,” Williams said. “And with that philosophy in mind, I seem to always come out alright.”

John Klyce covers education and children's issues for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at John.klyce@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphian graduates from LeMoyne-Owen 51 years after completing coursework