Army vet, one of first black women to serve, celebrates 105th birthday

Army vet, one of first black women to serve, celebrates 105th birthday in style
By Fredrick Kunkle
Published: September 11

The way Alyce Dixon takes command of a room, the way she’s showered with greetings and blessings from other residents and staffers at the VA Medical Center as she rolls through the halls, can make it seem as if her wheelchair is a throne on wheels.

No wonder she’s called the “Queen Bee” at the medical center, where she’s lived for 10 years.

Dixon — one of the first African American women to serve in the Army — continued her spitfire assault on a second century of living with a spirited birthday bash Tuesday celebrating 105 years.

In a sunny, balloon-filled community room at the VA Medical Center in the District, a jazz combo played, Mayor Vincent C. Gray sent birthday wishes and — at Dixon’s request — everyone in her geriatrics unit dined on shrimp and crab cakes. As usual, Dixon pressed everyone to supply her with some new jokes. In one of the many tributes to her World War II service, Dixon was presented with a dozen red, white and yellow roses.
read more here