Al and Ruth Giles celebrating their 62nd anniversary
Final resting place. Veterans’ Garden at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Fort Lauderdale
Corporal Giles in 1943, at Camp Claiborne, a World War II US Army military camp in Louisiana. He is pictured here awaiting deployment for service in the Pacific Theater of Operations (New Guinea, near Australia; Leyte Island, Philippines; and Okinawa, Japan). Giles had just completed specialist training at a water purification school at Fort Belvoir, VA, where he learned to purify water on the Accotink River.
Honoring His Final Request
The late retired educator and Fort Lauderdale pioneer Alphonso “Al” Giles (1922-2015) would have celebrated his 100th birthday this past May 2. He desired a Military Honors Funeral Ceremony; however, these honors were not included in his funeral rites. His daughter was blessed to fulfill her father’s final wish with the assistance of the James C. Boyd Funeral Home and approval of the US Army.
Answering America’s Call to Serve
Giles was drafted for World War II US Army service in 1942, shortly after beginning his sophomore year in college. His high chemistry grades at Florida A&M College (now Florida A&M University) qualified him for water purification specialist training at Fort Belvoir, VA. Giles used these skills to support military operations at an outpost near a fresh-water stream in the sweltering jungles of New Guinea, near Australia. He later served on Leyte Island in the Philippines and was on the Japanese island of Okinawa when atomic bombs devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
A Few Highlights of His Life
• 1941, Giles graduated from Fort Lauderdale’s Dillard High School
• 1942-1946, US Army Water Purification Specialist in the Pacific Theater of Operations during WWII
• 1948, bachelor’s degree, Florida A&M College in Tallahassee
• 1949, married Miss Ruth Yvette Taylor and later blessed with a devoted daughter, Yvette
• 1952, master’s degree, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
• Educator for 30 plus years, in Polk County and Broward County school systems and Florida Memorial College (Upward Bound)
• 1954, helped establish Fort Lauderdale’s graduate chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
• 1962, broke down racial barriers as one of the first nine African American students to integrate the all-white Florida State College (now FSU)
• 1960s, first African American member, Broward County’s Marine Advisory Board
• 2012, President Obama personally thanked Giles for his military service and gave him a presidential medallion
• 2014, Broward County Council of the National Pan-Hellenic Council honored Giles with a Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2016, Florida’s Governor approved legislation honoring Alphonso “Al” Giles as a civil rights leader.
Welcome .
Ricky O. Stuart, Sr., Lt Col, US Air Force-Retired
“The Star-Spangled Banner” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kris Nicholson, Pianist
Invocation . . . . . . The Reverend Russell Giles, US Army-Veteran, Nephew
Recognition of Veterans . . . . . . . Ricky O. Stuart, Sr., Lt Col, USAF-Retired
Introduction of Presenters . . . . . Ricky O. Stuart, Sr., Lt Col, USAF-Retired
The Occasion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yvette M. Giles, EdD, Daughter
Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles C. Scott, II
Representing Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, 24th District
Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Honorable Christopher L. “Chris” Smith
Former Florida State Senator, 31st District
In His Own Words: Al Giles Speaks . . . . . . Yvette M. Giles, EdD, Daughter
Clips from the video, Alphonso Giles: Portrait of an American Hero
Entry into US Military
Journey to Pacific Theater of Operations
Combat Operations
Japanese Surrender on USS Missouri
Special Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Craig C. Smith, COL, US Army
Director of J6 Communication Systems, Directorate Headquarters US Southern Command
Military Funeral Honors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Army Honor Guard
Playing of “Taps”
Folding and Presentation of the US Burial Flag
Closing Remarks . . . . . . Ricky O. Stuart, Sr., Lt Col, US Air Force-Retired
Benediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Reverend D’Mrtri C. Burke
Associate Pastor, New Mount Moriah AME Church, Jacksonville, FL
Recessional . . . . . . . . . . “God Bless America” . . . . Kris Nicholson, Pianist
Giles’s Rank
Technician 5th Grade