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Corporal Eteal Reed

Eteal Reed's columbarium niche with the inscription, "Black Ram."
  • Date of Birth: December 26, 1928
  • Entered the Military: November 10, 1952
  • Date of Death: October 26, 2016
  • Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
  • Place of Death: Mobile, Alabama
  • Cemetery: Section 2A, Row 2B, Site 10. Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Spanish Fort, Alabama
Contributed by AP World History Period 3 Students
Mentored by Ms. Melissa Motes
Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies
2024/2025

Early Life

Eteal Reed was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1928. His mother was Mildred Reed. In the 1930 census, he is listed as living with his mother, several aunts, and a cousin in his grandmother Rosie’s house. Mildred supported her son by working as a maid for a private family.

On June 17, 1938, Mildred married Matthew Harris. The 1940 census shows Eteal (listed as Eitel Harris) living with his mother, Mildred, his stepfather, Matthew, a brother named Marion, and his aunt, Permelia.

According to his family, Eteal attended school at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church, a historic African American Catholic Church, and graduated from Mobile Public Schools. He was an avid plant lover and would garden in his free time. He also attended Mardi Gras parades and thoroughly enjoyed the culture and fun life in Mobile. He was also an artist who loved to draw and fix up old items that would have been otherwise neglected. 

In January 1947, when he completed his draft registration card, he listed his name as Eteal Reed. Reed indicated that he worked for the Polarus Shipping Company, based in New York City. Specifically, he listed that he worked as a messman on the O.L. Bodenhamer, a freighter.

Eteal Reed (Etel McBride), living with his mother, Mildred, and grandmother, Rosie, in the 1930 census. National Archives and Records Administration.
Eteal Reed (Eitel Harris), living with his mother, Mildred, stepfather, Matthew, and brother, Marion, in the 1940 census. National Archives and Records Administration.
Eteal Reed’s draft registration card lists his mother as his next of kin. National Archives and Records Administration.

Homefront

Eteal Reed grew up in Mobile, Alabama, the oldest city in Alabama and the first city in America to celebrate Mardi Gras.

Reed worked for the Polarus Shipping Company when he registered for the draft in 1947. Since the 1920s, the Port of Mobile has been an important force in Mobile’s economy. It was (and is) a hub for commercial shipping and Alabama’s only deep water port. During World War II, almost 90,000 people were employed at the port in various capacities. The economy declined following the post-war boom.

A military ship under construction at the Port of Mobile during World War II. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Encyclopedia of Alabama.
A view of downtown Mobile showing two major businesses, Waterman Steamship Corporation and Merchants National Bank, 1954. Museum of Mobile Collection, University of South Alabama Archives, Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Military Experience

Eteal Reed joined the U.S. Army in 1950. He earned a rank of corporal during his time in service. According to Mr. Reed’s children, he did not discuss the war except to express how cold it was in Korea.  

His brother, Billie Marion McBride, also served in the U.S. Army in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Sadly, Reed’s records were lost in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center, so little detail is known about his time in the service.

Veteran Experience

On March 27, 1951, Reed married Violet Bryant in Cook County, Illinois. He continued to serve in the Army until 1957. Together, they had five children: Brenda, Linda, Michael, Gary, Alesha, and Violet. 

Eteal and Violet Reed moved to Detroit, where Reed worked for the Ford Motor Company for over 30 years. He retired, and they returned to Mobile. 

Mr. Reed loved to travel and belonged to a traveling van club, where he earned the nickname and CB handle “Black Ram” because of his black Dodge Ram. He loved to take his children on road trips across the United States. His children looked up to him, and several served in the U.S. Army.

He loved visiting the World’s Fair. He first attended the 1964 World’s Fair in New York and last attended in New Orleans in 1984. Reed also enjoyed participating in Mardi Gras festivities in his hometown of Mobile. 

Commemoration

Eteal Reed died on October 26, 2016. He rests at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort, Alabama. His CB handle, “The Black Ram,” is engraved on his marker.

Resting place of Eteal Reed at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort, Alabama, March 28, 2025. His CB handle, “Black Ram,” is engraved on his marker. Courtesy of Cain Bloodworth.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Alabama. Mobile County. 1930 U.S. federal census. Digital images. https://ancestry.com. 

Alabama. Mobile County. 1940 U.S. federal census. Digital images. https://ancestry.com. 

Downtown Mobile, 1954. Photograph. 1954. Museum of Mobile Collection, University of South Alabama Archives, Encyclopedia of Alabama. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/media/downtown-mobile-1954/. 

“Eteal Reed.” Christian Benevolent Funeral Home. Updated October 27, 2016. Accessed December 6, 2024. https://www.christianbenevolent.com/obituary/3999284. 

Eteal Reed. Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960. https://ancestry.com. 

“McBride.” The Mobile Press [Mobile, AL], January 17, 1981. Newspapers.com (1169094582). 

Mildred Reed. Alabama, U.S. County Marriage Records, 1805-1967. https://ancestry.com. 

Reed Family. Email interviews with the author. February 2025. 

World War II Ship Production. Photograph. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Encyclopedia of Alabama. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/media/world-war-ii-ship-production/. 

Secondary Sources

“About.” Port of Mobile. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://www.alports.com/about/.

“Billie Marion McBride.” Find a Grave. Updated January 27, 2018. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186920564/billie-marion-mcbride.

Bivens, Shawn A.  Mobile, Alabama’s People of Color: A Tricentennial History, 1702-2002. Trafford, 2004. 

“Eteal Reed.” Find a Grave. Updated November 7, 2016. Accessed December 6, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172420101/eteal-reed. 

“Eteal Reed.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/ETEALREED/8f788d.  

Loftin, Bernadette Kuehn. A Social History of the Mid-Gulf South (Panama City-Mobile) 1930-1950. Dissertation, University of Southern Mississippi, 1971.

“Mobile’s Mardi Gras.” Encyclopedia of Alabama. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/mobiles-mardi-gras/.

“Port of Mobile.” Encyclopedia of Alabama. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/port-of-mobile/.

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.