Today’s Star Spangled Salute honors World War II Army veteran Nelson Henry Jr.  In 1945, Nelson’s service ended in a very hard way.  He was forced out of the army and given a discriminatory “Blue Discharge” because Nelson is black.  Neither honorable nor dishonorable, the blue discharge, given to 48,000 service members at the time,  denied them access to military benefits such as a funeral honor guard. Printed on blue paper, the discharge was notice to potential employers who refused to hire soldiers without an honorable discharge. Nelson never stopped fighting to get that injustice made right.  Now, nearly 75 years later, he has the honorable discharge papers in his hands that he truly deserves.  Nelson said that after waiting so long it was hard to believe, calling it more of a shock than a miracle.  Nelson, thank you for your service.