For many years, Richard “Dick” E. Toye, Sr. has been happy to serve his community in the background.
The 98-year-old World War II veteran was drafted in 1944 and was stationed in Okinawa as a member of the Quartermaster Corps, overseeing supplies to troops. He reenlisted after being discharged from active duty and continued to serve as a volunteer on the home front, hoping for positive change in Spotsylvania County.
But on Saturday, a crowd of roughly 100 gathered to honor Toye’s service in WWII during Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc.’s (HFFI) “Victory and Valor: WWII 80th Anniversary” event. Marking the end of the war, the two-day celebration also featured a USO dance, performances, exhibits and a blood drive.
HFFI presented Toye with an engraved clock, and HFFI president David Kelly James offered him one of his personal battalion coins in recognition of service, as well. The honors continued during the event, with Del. Joshua Cole (D-65) presenting Toye with a commendation from the Virginia House of Delegates to Toye, and former representative and current gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger (D) sending a letter of congratulations.
The Enduring Freedom Honor Team, a local high school brass band that plays nostalgic 40’s music, dedicated “Of Courage and Valor” to Toye, after which he stood to thank and salute.
Stage Door Productions then put on a USO-style radio show, complete with advertisements — all assembled by Mayo Carter — from surviving scripts. The performance concluded with a recorded broadcast from Bob Hope announcing the invasion of Normandy.
“Overwhelmed,” Toye said of being feted. “I’m being recognized, interpret my recognition as recognition for [the] entire crew I served with. I’ve never looked forward to a situation like we have here today, out of the service a long time. Can’t tell you how much today’s event means to me and the crew I served with.”
As far as he knows, none of the others are still living.
“At 18, I was a kid. Never left home,” he said. “Went into service. Went along with everything they wanted me to do. That’s the way service is: follow the order. I went along. Ship came in with supplies. Had to take care of people in line. Make sure they were taken care of.”
Sue Sargent, a member of HFFI’s event committee, introduced Toye. Sargent said she had known him for years but did not know until recently that he was a WWII veteran. She encountered him last year at Spotsylvania Freedom Middle School’s Veterans Day celebration, where he was invited by his grandson, Will.
“Oh, are you a veteran of Vietnam?” she recalled asking Toye, to which he replied, “No, World War II.”
The event was held at the Dorothy Hart Community Center, which was the USO building during the war. Sargeant noted that 600,000 men passed through those doors.
The event included a showcase of World War II-era vehicles (Photo by Ted Scheubel)
Toye never came through the Fredericksburg USO, but he would not have been allowed in the Dorothy Hart building if he had.
The USO has a creed that it is open to everyone, Sargent noted. However, segregation across the U.S. included the military and prohibited black soldiers from occupying white spaces.
On Feb. 6, 1942, The Free Lance-Star published a letter from the local NAACP detailing the need for a second USO because of this. HFFI’s program for the event noted that “Many in the Black community referred to the fight for victory in WWII as the “Double V” campaign — victory over fascism abroad and over racism and discrimination at home.”
Local leaders, including Dr. Philip Wyatt, Dr. W.L. Harris, and Black veterans in the American Legion secured funding and volunteers to open Fredericksburg’s “Colored USO Club” in the Elks Lodge at 1103 Winchester St. They operated for more than a year supporting Black soldiers before it was officially dedicated as a USO.
Toye said he never saw combat because Black service members weren’t allowed to fight.
“I still think about it now,” Toye said in a conversation with Sargent. “WWII was fought by white people. There were few blacks in combat. Only 700 black people were killed in WWII of all the thousands…
“And I look at war movies today. Those movies are true. I cry sometimes as an old man to shed a tear to see those white kids and before they can get off the boat, they’re dead. That’s a damn shame… Why weren’t we in combat, simply because of discrimination…That’s a matter of pride. Historically, Blacks have fought and been distinguished in war. Never thought about this until I was old. Blacks have always been outstanding in war.”
After being released from service, Toye signed up again and was in the Navy Reserves until 1950. He returned to his home in Washington D.C., and worked for the Smithsonian, where he met his wife. They went on to have a family and settled in Spotsylvania.
He’s been active in the community since his military service ended. Toye has volunteered widely: with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the United Way and the Spotsylvania County Democratic Committee, among others.
“It was just something I thought I should do,” he said. “And I think I’ve been effective, and I’m pleased with that.”
Cole knows Toye from volunteerism in Spotsylvania and said that, after almost a decade of knowing him, it was a special honor to present the commendation. He plans to seek another honor, a resolution, from the House when it reconvenes.
Moe Petway, pastor and president of the Spotsylvania NAACP, came to “celebrate Mr. Toye. He described Toye as “tireless,” the kind of volunteer who, at 90, was hammering candidate signs into the ground and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down even though he’s just two months shy of his 99th birthday.
His family, wife Sara Toye, daughter Elizabeth Toye-Jones and grandchildren Eva Jones and Will Jones, joined him on Saturday.
“I think it’s really great,” Sara said about the celebration of his service. “He says he’s not a hero, but I know he is.”
