Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley has received some recognition recently. The Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley Women’s Clinic was dedicated at the Dayton VA Campus on June 12. This will be her second namesake honor. On April 27, 2023, Fort Lee in Virginia was officially renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.

Charity Edna Adams was born in Kitrell, North Carolina in 1918. Her father was a minister, and her mother was a former teacher. When she was a young girl, her family moved to South Carolina, which she later considered home.

Charity was intellectually gifted and started school in second grade. By the end of elementary school, she was tested and scored ready to start high school. Her parents decided not to advance her any more grades since she was already a few grades ahead of her age group in school. Charity graduated school two years early as valedictorian. At Wilberforce College, Charity majored in Latin, Math, and Physics. She held a part-time job and was involved in many student activities before she graduated in 1938.

During WWII, Charity was the first African American female officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC, later called WAC). She led the 3rd Training Regiment, made up of two white and one black platoon. At Fort Des Moines, she was promoted to Major, which made her the highest-ranking female officer at the fort and one of the highest-ranking WAC officers in the country. She then deployed to Europe and led the first Black WAC unit to serve overseas. For her work in Europe, Charity was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest possible rank for WAC.

After her service, Charity went back to school and completed her Master’s in Vocational Psychology from Ohio State University. She married her husband in 1949 and together they had two children.

In 1952, Charity and her husband settled in Dayton, where she devoted her time to her family and to the Dayton community. She served on the board of directors for DP&L, Dayton Metro Housing Authority, and Dayton Opera Company, on the board of governors of the American Red Cross, and the board of trustees at Sinclair. She volunteered for the United Way, The United Negro College Fund, the Urban League, and the YWCA. She was also the founder of the Black Leadership Development Program in 1982.

Charity died in 2002. Her service promoting opportunities for black Americans has been recognized by the National Postal Museum, National Women’s History Museum, Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, Smithsonian Institute, South Carolina Black Hall of Fame, and many other organizations. Charity fought years of segregation in the Army and opened many doors of opportunity for African American women in the military.