As we got inside, these people came out of these barracks like buildings, they had striped
uniforms on, and just in devastated shape. One of the fellows came out who spoke English,
and he said, 'Are you Americans?' and I said 'Yes.' He said 'Thank God,' and he hit the
ground and started to pray. I know I talked to one woman, that's interesting, I talked to this
woman. It was a child, a young child, and I told her who I was, I was on my knees talking to her,
and I told her my name, and you know, it was just a nice kid who was just...she wasn't in too good,
but she's in better shape than most for some reason. And we talked. And it was over. One day, I
was in Boston here, and I went to a meeting of the survivors. It was several years ago, it's been 10,
12 years ago. And this woman she was at the fair yesterday, but this woman screamed and ran over
to me and said, 'I know you! I know you! I know you!' and I'm saying, she doesn't know me, I don't
know what you're talking about. And she identified herself as the little girl I talked to at Dachau.
And I was just amazed how she would remember me. She said I know you by your eyes. I was sitting
on the roadside, somewhere up in Germany, and I was heating my c rations over a can of Sterno.
And this guy - I'm filthy and dirty - this guy comes up in a jeep, and he's clean and he says
he's from Yank Magazine. He said, 'We want to take a picture of you,' and I said, 'What you want to
take a picture of me. ' He said, 'it's just a great picture, you sitting at the roadside here
with your weapon.' So they took a picture of me, and he said, 'So let me ask you something,' he
says, 'How are you, how do you as a Black soldier reconcile the fact and live with the fact that
you're discriminated against, you're segregated against, you're you're treated badly,
and yet you fight and yet you have a long record here of fighting because it's the only way you'd
be here.' And he says, 'What's it all about?' and I said, 'The only way I can explain this
is that I guess I'm fighting for the right to fight when I get back home.'
[Interviewer] Is that one of the things that kept you going too? [Paul] I think so, in fact I'm sure
it was, it was, I just kept saying, 'We gotta end this crazy thing,' and that's the reason why since
the war, I've been involved with Dr. King, I think I've been in a jail in every state in the south.
So, I've been constantly fighting for people's rights.