John Withers grew up in segregated Greensboro, North Carolina, where he lived in a six-room house with his mother, father, three siblings, five cousins, and a family friend.  Born in 1916, the son of a janitor and seamstress, Withers' parents instilled the value of a strong education in him.  His father was a well-educated man, and perhaps this is the reason Withers developed his dream to become a college professor.  Throughout his teens, Withers became increasingly interested in opera, literature, and Gospel verse, often writing favorites down in his journal.  After high school, he received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of North Carolina in Social Science and then achieved a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1941.  Drafted into the army at the age of twenty-four, Withers was hoping to achieve a Ph.D.

Within three years, Withers became a Lieutenant leading an all-black convoy.  White officers, who were transferred because they viewed their position as demeaning, previously led the convoy. Withers led the Quartermaster Truck Company 3512, which ferried supplies to the front lines in Europe; he did not experience full combat.  When the Readjustment Act of 1944 (commonly called the G.I. Bill) was passed, Withers hoped to use it to study for a Ph.D., and he was committed to maintaining a clean service record in the army.  However, during the war, his soldiers tested the strength of his character when they smuggled in two starving Jewish boys from Dachau, a recently liberated German concentration camp.  Harboring the children was against military law, and if they were found, Withers risked suffering a dishonorable discharge from the army and the resulting loss of the benefits he hoped would build his future.  Withers, however, chose to risk his life-long dream of higher education and care for the two boys despite the real danger of losing all he had worked for in the army.  After seeing the emaciated boys with sores covering their bodies, and the looks on his men's faces, Withers immediately chose to act with compassion.  For the first time, Withers realized that just being white was not enough.  Peewee and Salomon, the two Jewish boys, had been persecuted despite their white color.  With the approval and help of Withers, his unit fed, clothed, and rehabilitated the two boys.  They taught them English (with a drastic decrease in the amount of swearing), told them stories, and, most importantly, painted a hopeful picture of the America they wanted to return to.  Withers's convoy hid the boys successfully, and he cared for them for over a year, until his honorable discharge in December 1946, and his return home. 

After he served in the Army, Withers earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Political Science and International Relations.  He was one of only twelve students to attain this degree.  Withers married Daisy Courtney Withers and the couple had two sons, John L. and Gregory Withers.  He taught at the University of Michigan.  The arm of the US State Department was slowly desegregating and eventually, Withers joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  He worked there for 21 years, traveling all over the world to locations including Laos, Kenya, Ethiopia, and India, until his retirement in 1979. Withers describes himself as "a man who did the best he could in the circumstances with which he was dealt," but his story speaks with boundless compassion.

Back to Biography Homepage...