Phillip Foster Jr.
Phillip Foster Jr. served as a quartermaster in the Michigan National Guard. He was a corporal warrant officer in WWII, which is a highly specialized position. As a warrant officer, he operated, maintained, administered, and managed the army’s equipment, and supported activities and technical systems. At the young age of twenty four, Phillip married his wife Lucy Haney. They stayed married throughout his life, but had no children. Because he did not have any kids, he was likely very close to his siblings, LeRoy, Lucille, Mattie, Margaret and Elizabeth. As an army corporal, he became very close with the members of his unit. They nicknamed him “Bo-Bo” which is a nickname that stuck with him throughout the rest of his life. His family was successful, as both parents owned businesses. By 1930 his father, who worked as a merchant throughout his life, had passed, and Phillip’s older brother Leroy became the patriarch of the household. Phillip’s mother, Annie, was unemployed for part of his life, but at certain times she would work as a laundress to contribute to her family’s income. Phillip married his wife Lucy Haney in 1942 soon before going off to serve in the military. In March 1943, Phillip was removed from his position as warrant officer and sent to the hospital. There he was diagnosed with epiphysitis, a deformity of his lower extremity and other various conditions which affected his bones and mobile organs. He was not injured in line of duty, and the cause of his conditions are unknown. He was discharged from the hospital in April 1943, and never returned to his former position as warrant officer in the Michigan National Guard. Phillip and Lucy divorced in 1950, probably due to the stress of being in a military relationship. He died at 41, likely because healthcare for African Americans at the time was limited. The closest hospital that served African Americans was twenty miles away in Tuskegee.
Contributed by Layla and Tate from Auburn High School