Many of us felt we never would get a chance to really fight. Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life i couldnt go in, which i didnt realize at that time, was because of the color of my skin. America america make god thy gold refine the story of africanamericans in world war ii is, indeed, a legacy of patriotism and valor. In 1941 americans looked at their world and saw war everywhere. Across the atlantic adolf hitlers german troops occupied nearly every inch of europe, from france to russia, to the baltic sea and in north africa. In the pacific the Japanese Army and navy had already captured parts of china, manchuria, korea and a number of nearby islands. Pearl harbor would stun the United States into war. Monday morning the first thing i did was go down to the recruiting station and enlist in the service of my country. I was told there was no quota for black troops. Theyve got to remember that this country was very discriminatory, segregated and there was no change. First of all, black sailors as sailors per se other than as mess attendants or stewards werent permitted into the navy. Given the fact that i was in the segregated army, that made no difference. I joined the army to fight for the country, for my country, because i was born and raised and nurtured by this country. And i saw no reason to slack off because of the segregated, nor being in a racist society. Africanamericans participation in the armed forces was regulated by firmly held beliefs. Blacks should be organized in segregated units. Blacks would not mind segregation. Blacks should be used only in service units. Blacks should not command whites. The motivation was basic, black male of color then, i felt that if i fought for my country, shared my blood, if necessary, then i come back home i would be treated as equal. I earned it. In a sense i really believe for two wars, one is against the germans and japanese and the other is a war against segregation. Africanamericans would fight, bleed and die in world war ii, to free people around the world. Their performance on the battlefield would change the American Armed forces forever, and their bravery would pave the way for the modern Civil Rights Movement that would emerge after the war. But one battle would take much longer to win. It would take more than 50 years for america to fully recognize the heroism of its black war fighters. More than 50 years ago an unspeakable tyranny threat nene the worlds freedom and men and women answered the call to arms. Millions of these were americans and many of these americans were black. In the Second World War more than 1 million africanamerican men and women served on land, at sea, and in the air. They served also to ensure that the freedom for which they fought abroad could not be denied at home. The program youre about to see is a chronicle of their service. In no way can it measure up to the determination and patriotism of these extraordinary men and women, for the struggle stands as a model of courage and character. As you watch the scenes unfold, you will get a glimpse of a magnificent, heart rending effort for freedom and justice. Today the cry utriumphs of thes africanamerican men and women are a Lasting Legacy of every soldier, sailor, marine, coast guardsman and merchant marine who served in world war ii. But even more, what they gave, what they suffered, and what they accomplished is a shining example to free men and women everywhere. It is very important to note that black americans have always fought for this country. In the American Revolution 5,000 fight for freedom. The war of 1812, thousands more serve on land and at sea. The civil war, africanamericans fight for freedom and dignity. The 9th and 10th calvalry regiments open up americans western frontier as the Buffalo Soldiers. And the 24th and 25th infantry help helped Teddy Roosevelts rough riders at a crucial moment in the battle for san juan hill. 400,000 africanamericans served in world war i. Two allblack combat divisions were activated. The 92nd and the 93rd infantry. But it is under the command of the french army that black american infantry would prove their mettle on the battlefield. For their bravery france awards black soldiers its highest medal, and the United States awards black soldiers from both units the distinguished Service Cross. Despite their bravery the number of black soldiers in the army are severely reduced during the period between world war i and world war ii. In 1940 there were only 4,451 africanamericans in the United States army. Five were commissioned officers and 11 warrant officers. The rest were enlisted men, mostly in service and supply units. There were no black marines, and only a few mess stewards in the navy and coast guard. By the mid1930s the world veers towards war again. Africanamericans still must fight for the right to do their part. At west point the armys military academy, the color barrier remains difficult to crack. Benjamin o. Davis jr. Graduates from west point in 1936. He is the first africanamerican to graduate from the point in the 20th century. Not one social word was spoken to davis in his four years at west point. The reserve officer training corps, rotc, allows some africanamerican College Students to become officers. Meanwhile, africanamerican organizations and newspapers petition president franklin d. Roosevelt and his administration for dignity and equality in the armed forces. There is a grave apprehension among negros lest the existing and adequate representation and training of colored persons may lead to the creation of labor battalions and other forms of discrimination against them in the event of war. September, 1940, Congress Passes the Selective Service and training act. The first number is serial number 158. It promises that black americans will be represented in the armed forces in proportion to the general population. Pfc the cpl the mp its the gi jive but the marine corps isnt accepting blacks. The Army Air Corps isnt accepting blacks. The navy is, but only as mess attendants. The army takes africanamericans, but only as replacements for its allblack units. On the home front blacks face discrimination in the expanding defense industry. Africanamerican organizations continue to protest. A. Phillip randolph sets a july 1st date for a march on washington. To stop the march president roosevelt offers a compromise. He issues executive order 8802 which establishes the president s committee on fair employment practices. The order promises to end discrimination at factories producing for the national defense. Six months later the United States enters world war ii. December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy. The v for victory becomes the double v for black americans, victory over fascism, victory over racism at home. The double v becomes a rallying cry for africanamerican participation in Americas Armed forces and on the home front. Someday hell come along from black entertainers joining the War Bond Campaign rallies to farm workers, to workers on the assembly line, africanamericans help boost morale and supply Americas Armed forces. Ill do my best we did what we did because we were there and we had to do it. You had over 50,000 black soldiers, and they were from the port of embarcation, where all the goods come in all the way up into the jungles which is where we were. Early in the war africanamerican troops are sent to remote corners of the world to build roads and airstrips for future battles. One of the wars most formidable Construction Projects is the lito road, running from lito in india to china, over the him layias and the jungles it will be more than a thousand miles long. We would supply the gerkas and the indians fighting around burma where the japanese were fighting at the time, we also supplied american supplies and we also supplied the chinese. Of the 15,000 troops who build the road 60 are africanamericans. The 823rd engineer aviation battalion begins work on the road in december 1942. The 849th and the 1883rd engineer aviation battalions and others soon joined them. Freight trains of the railroad pull into a transfer shed located near the point of origin of the lito road, a detachment of negro engineers began work on the road in december 1942. In this headquarters area the neg row units handle every phase of the operations, incident to removing vital replacements along the route. On january 12th, 1945 the first convoy of soldiers travel the lito road. And when the first convoy from india to china rolled over the completed road 25 months later, a negro was driving the lead vehicle. In driving, instead of shifting automatically and, you know, double clutching, when you start going up the mountains you dont have time to double clutch if you have a loaded truck so you fly clutch it so you slip past the gears. You rough on the truck but you got to your destination safely. On the other side of the world africanamerican troops battle frigid arctic temperatures and blinding snow to build the alcan highway. The black soldiers, some of them had never drove a bulldozer, had never drove a truck, a big heavy truck, never drove a road grader. But they learned how to use that and did that kind of work themselves. We wasnt taught to do none of the kind of way. The terrain was very rough. It was unstable. It would vibrate, which made it rather difficult for the bulldozers, the temperatures varied anywhere from 32 below zero down to 65 below zero. Bulldozer would freeze to the ground. Trucks would freeze to the ground. And once you cut the motor off you couldnt get any of them to start. On the alaskan highway the black troops were housed in cloth tents while the white soldiers were in huts and housed in some of their army bases. What protected the black soldiers inside of the tents, the frost was about an inch thick, which acted as insulation. From april 1942 until july 1943 black soldiers work on the 1,600 mile highway that will link alaska, canada and the United States to supply allied forces. It was a great accomplishment. Its a great feat. And some compared with building the panama canal. Planes for russia, fair banks, alaska, the first russia bound planes the unit got 8,000 planes to russia by way of the alaskan highway. Africanamerican soldiers also build airfields that pave the way for the liberation of europe. Hard work, sweat and tears. And the thing was this, you dont go home until you finish. If you get it finished, then you go home. The tuskegee experiment was designed to fail. I was not going to fail. The officer in charge told me, he says, we really dont have any colored in the military Army Air Corps. There are other places for you. And we will not have any. The basis for their refusal was a staff report which had determined, i use that word euphemistically that colored troops did not have the capability, the intelligence, the courage, or even the coordination to fly fighter aircraft. There were a couple of young black men in the chicago area who felt so strongly about wanting to fly military aircraft, that they rented an old lincoln page plane and flew it to washington to focus on the fact that blacks did not have opportunities to learn to fly military aircraft. They were met by then senator harry truman. His statement, if you guys have the guts enough to fly that thing all the way from chicago to washington, then i have guts enough to see that you get what youre asking for. Mrs. Roosevelt went down to tuskegee on a visit and while she was there she went out to the field and met chief anderson, the chief pilot of the primary phase of flying. And she went to the dismay of the secret service and everybody, she went for a ride with chief anderson. When she went back to washington, within a short time, the tuskegee experiment was begun. The War Department announces plans for the formation and training of an allblack pursuit squadron, an airfield to train the pilots is built in tuskegee, alabama. The first class consisted of 13, 12 students and one military officer who was then captain davis who later became the commander. I was transferred from the base at Tuskegee Army airfield to command the 99th in august of 42. We were very much interested in flying. I think that everybody felt that this was an opportunity because theyd not had the advantage of such training before. We had come to the realization that that it would not come easy, that we would have to be almost twice as good as the other people if we were to succeed. But admonished ourselves and admonished our comrades that this would not only for us but it was for our whole race of people. In april 1943 the 99th flight pursuit squadron leaves for north africa. Benjamin o. Davis jr. Is in command. He has no combat experience. The 99th is stationed at cape bond, attached to the 33rd Fighter Group. Trained for pursuit the 99th ironically flies Bombing Missions in north africa and sicily through the summer of 1943. They thhad great problems in 1943 was the commander was a segregationist and he did everything he could to keep them segregated. They werent invited to the officer club on his part of the airfield, kept segregated in every way, shape and form, the worst thing the commander did to them in their First Combat Missions he didnt allow a veteran pilot to lead them into combat. In september 1943 the lack of significant fighter engagements endangering the 99ths continued d existence, davis is ordered back to the United States to defend the record. Colonel davis had to fight very hard to keep the unit flying, the recommendation was to abandon the 99th and to stop the training of the 332nd, in training on the airfield at the time. Lieutenant colonel daviss defense keeps the Tuskegee Airmen flying. With huge losses mounting for the 15th air force, the 332nd Fighter Group moves to italy in april 1944 to begin bomber escort duty. Davis snapped at the opportunity he had been flying a very obsolete airplane, the p39 cobra, he was given the p47 for about a month and then the p51. Just about every day we were flying top cover for bombers, protecting the bombers from enemy fighters. Now, the bombers, they have to fly straight and level at a certain speed so that the bombadier can make sure the bomb lands where its supposed to. Its a sad commentary when you see these guys coming in there flying like bugs and you see them explode. On mission after Mission Bomber crews looked to the 332nds red tail fighter escort for protection. You would stay with the bombers because that was your primary job, because when the fighters went running off chasing other fighters, then new german fighters would come in and the bombers would be all by themselves. The 332nd never lost a bomber to an enemy fighter in 200 missions stretching from may of 44 to april 45. That is a unique record. No white unit, and all the rest of them were white, stayed in the hunt as long as they did, could make that claim. One of the armys best kept secrets was that there was a black Fighter Group. We had no idea that the red tails, who had given us the finest escort and whose escort we preferred were black pilots. Not an idea in the world. The Tuskegee Airmen were a bunch of very courageous, able, intelligent, aggressive young africanamericans who were not going to be stopped by anything. And we were some damn good pilots. It was just a feeling of patriotism and a feeling that everyone wanted to help out in the war effort. Africanamerican women also answered the call to service. From europe to north africa to new guinea and here at home, they serve and work to win the war. In april 1941 the Army Nurse Corps has 48 africanamerican nurses. By 1944 there will be 220 black army nurses. Africanamerican females in the womens army corps, or w. A. X. , have an uphill battle to serve their country. Charity adams commanded the 6888 postal protection. The white wax had been serving overseas by two years, but for some reason the usual black troops made trouble or blacks cant do what others are doing and whatnot, overseas commanders did not want black women to come over. I guess if there is anything that i remember about the Second World War it was the fact, or that i was a member of the 6888, central postal directory. It was the first and the only battalion of black women to serve overseas during the Second World War and im very, very proud of that. Stationed in birmingham, england and later in france the 6888 processes mail, forwarding eagerly awaited packages and letters to americans throughout europe. Their job was redirecting mail that had had one attempted delivery based on the last address the people back home had. But of course in wartimes you move pretty fast. Our job was not exciting, but it was necessary because it was necessary for the morale of the troops. Mail meant morale. By the wars end the navy had commissioned six black female officers and had enlisted 70 waves. The coast guard by this time had accepted a few black women in its reserve program, the spars. For civilian africanamerican women world war ii brings new challenges and opportunities. 600,000 out of a million africanamericans who enter paid employment during the war are women. Dover, new jersey needed more workers to make more ammunition for our fighting sources. The appeal was to harlem. A former factory worker sums it up best when she declares lincoln may have freed the slaves but hitler was the one that got us out of the white folks kitchen. This young white sailor said you black sob, i heard they had commissioned you guys but i never thought id see one. So i was standing down on the corner of 14th and independence avenue. All dressed up in my blues. And i never got so many hate stares in my life. From white servicemen who looked at me as if to say who does he think he is . The navy resists taking blacks, except as stewards. The marine corps remains all white. In 1942 the need for manpower cracks the navys and marine corps color line. The secretary of the navy said the black folks couldnt handle the warfare they had in the marine corps and that was a challenge to me. Thats why i went in. In june 1942 the u. S. Marine corps enlists blacks, from across the country, africanamerican recruits arrive at munford point for boot camp. Many like other southern bases is a rude awakening. How in the world did i ever get into Something Like this . Our receptionist said you will say yes, sir, no, sir, and you will not move until you are told to do so. Do you understand, boy . I heard what happened to black people or colored people, as recalled south of the mason dixie line and no personal experience and my parents who were southerners basically never talked about it. Colonel samuel a. Woods, mumford points Commanding Officer is sympathetic to the challenges faced by recruits. Colonel wood was, in my opinion, the fairest white man ive ever met, or seen. Almost weekly he would have us write a letter to washington in which he was complaining about the way we were treated as human being in north carolina. We did all the things that all marines do, close ordered drill, rifle range, hand to hand combat, survival training, anything that any other marine got. In the navy the number of black enlistees approaches 100,000 and the Navy Establishes its First Training Program for black naval officers. Didnt know why i was going to be sent there and didnt actually find out why. Because we had sealed orders. Until we got there and met 15 other young black men to discover that we were the guinea pigs to either prove or disprove the myth that blacks were not capable of serving as officers in the United States navy. They later became known as the golden 13. The navy trains the black cadets within a segregated area at Great Lakes Training station in illinois. We tried to study together, work together, certainly we were trying to be better than the next guy. And i think everybody was very competitive. It was very cooperative and yet competitive. By doing that, i think we raised our own level of accomplishment. Black sailors who were in training came there with a purpose, and that purpose was to make sure that people knew that they could sail, that they were qualified to be sailors, the majority of them, i would say 95 of those guys, would have been able to have sailed any place. The navys uss mason and the pc 1264 with their predominantly africanamerican views escort and protect vessels. Enlisted men also serve in the coast guard and merchant marine while protecting our shores and delivering men and material of war to battlefields around the world. Africanamericans knew nothing about airborne because it was very elite service, restricted only to whites. Here were now going to be the only all black parachute unit in world history, black from top to bottom. The 555th parachute company, the triple nickels, an all black unit is activated at fort benning, georgia. These paratroopers achieve a remarkable record, not a single refusal to jump. With the unit morale high the triple nickels expect to see combat. You remember that the battle of the bulge had done great damage. We spent four weeks in individualized training jumping every single week, both day and night operations. Instead, they are stationed in pendleton, oregon to join Operation Fire fly, a mission to protect the west coast from japanese balloon borne biological weapons and incendiary devices designed to start forest fires. Kept from combat during world war ii the triple nickels nevertheless proved their ability to perform the task. Their success lays the groundwork for integration of africanamericans into the highly skilled 82nd airborne Infantry Division. It was one big noisy mess. Spring, 1944, allied forces gather in england for the largest amphibious invasion in history. Africanamerican troops are part of the operation that will liberate europe. Quarter master units rush troops to the docks and load precious supplies. Their support is critical to the pending invasion. June 6th, 1944, normandy, france, dday. The invasion begins. Our job was to clean the mines so that the infantry coming aboard wouldnt get caught, find themselves in the middle of antipersonnel mines. At omaha beach black soldiers of the 320th released barrage balloons to protect the allied troops and ships. Africanamerican medics tend to the men wounded in the bloody battle. The number of casualties on omaha beach was phenomenal. We had never seen that many, or even thought that there would be that many casualties. I helped, along with the other medics to dress and to do the best we could with the wounded. Port companies arrive in normandy. They work 30, 40, 50hour shifts, building docks and unloading supplies that will sustain the allied push toward germany. General George Pattons third army breaks out from the normandy beachhead. To supply pattons troops in their dash across france, the transportation corps establishes the red ball express. Nearly 70 of the soldiers who man this massive effort are africanamerican. The 469th Quarter Master unit is in charge of 30 truck companies. They deliver food, ammunition, and fuel to the troops, and transport prisoners and casualties to the rear area. These Unsung Heroes of the road live up to their motto, keep them rolling, keep them supplied, keep them smiling. The red bull, constantly going all the time, no stopping, always on call, anytime of day or night. The red bull express carries 8,000 tons a day for four months, from august to november they will haul more than 400,000 tons of supplies. By the end of 1944 nearly 480,000 africanamericans are serving overseas. In world war ii the africanamerican experience at times it was not nice. I was quite frustrated with what was going on. We had to keep our thoughts and our minds on the big picture instead of worrying about segregation. The regiment really was not as well equipped and as well trained as it should have been. The 92nd division was named for the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th calvary. The 92nd is reactivated in 194 1 1942, only 20 years after they carried their battle they would fight racism in training and on the battlefield. We were victims of being sent to locations where negros couldnt do any harm to cities they were stationed near. Segregationist Army Policies and white citizen protests make it difficult to find places to station allblack units. With the allblack 93rd Infantry Division stationed at fort wachuka, arizona no other single post is available for the 92nd. When the 93rd ships out to the pacific in 1943 fort wachuka opens for the 92nd. White commanders of black units were southern selected officers, and i found personally, and other black men found personally that men who were generally not from the south were more considerate toward us, more respectful toward us, and we enjoyed serving under them more so than from under the white southern officers. The general feeling of the white leadership in the units that i was in, that this is im speaking of my own self personally. That they didnt think very much of us, they didnt think we had the intelligence to even pull the trigger and shoot straight. Army practice kept white officers from serving in units where they were junior in rank to any black officers. This created tensions in the 92nd. This Practice Limited the use of black officers and more importantly restricted their rank. I was angry. It made me feel very, very angry. The fact that my intelligence was insulted every time that i would make a suggestion on a tactic. The black officers were never given any latitude on in any command situation at all. I was downgraded because i was black. The 92nd is commanded by southerner Major General edward m. Allman. It is in a climate of racial mistrust that the 92nd trained for combat. Brigadier general benjamin o. Davis sr. On an inspection tour noted that Major Generalalman had overlooked the Human Element in training, with no thought to establishing racial understanding. My combat team was one of three combat teams in the 92nd Infantry Division. We were informed after maneuvers by the Division Commander that the 37th Infantry Combat Team would prepare for overseas movement. We were going overseas so we were just going overseas, we didnt know where we were going. We ran into combat with the 5th army. We were attached to the 1st army division. The 370th infantry in the 598th field regiment made combat ready with the best soldiers from the division deployed to italy, joining allied forces fighting along the gothic line, north and east to bolognia. The 92nds 370th combat team fights aggressively, and maintains contact with axis forces. After six weeks of allied success the axis forces withdraw into the gothic line. The german soldiers in italy were seasoned soldiers, they had come from another front, namely i think most of them came from southern france. They knew what they were doing. When you ran up against a bunch of them you knew you were in a fight. The rest of the division arrives in late october and november, and goes into the line. 2. 4 inches of rain in 24 hours, ending 9th december, flood a regimental area of the 9 92nd 17 air miles south of bologna. A ferry is improvised to carry battery across the swollen stream. The casualties experienced by the 92nd have a devastating effect on unit combat effectiveness. Back replacements are sent into theater with little or no combat training. Many cannot read or write. They are ill prepared for combat. The morale of the black soldiers, the enlisted personnel in the 370th at the time that i joined them was very low, most of these soldiers were draftees. They didnt want to be there and when they got there they were treated very badly. They werent treated like human beings. Despite the handicaps many units of the 92nd distinguished themselves in battle. Operating in the sertio valley the 365th and 366th infantry supported by the 597th Field Artillery are particularly effective, seizing ground from german and italian units and beating back numerous counterattacks from fall 1944 to spring 1945 the 92nd helps to hold the gothic line but the entire 5th army remains stalled. Elsewhere on the italian front continued heavy rains, floods and high winds make allied defensive operations virtually impossible. Reports from the front say its impossible to exaggerate the harshness of this years italian winter. In april the 5th army begins its final drive through the gothic line. There have been changes. The 92nd is reorganized as an integrated force, attached are the famed japaneseamerican 442nd and the white 473rd infantry along with the black 370th. They roll up the western italian coast, liberating the ports of mas is a and general. Many africanamericans distinguish themselves in the Italian Campaign but receive little recognition. There was a definite program afoot to suppress acts of bravery or acts of heroism on the part of the black soldiers. I never heard any stories or any comments concerning bravery by black soldiers from any of the white officers. Every time we turned around we were hearing about acts of bravery of the white soldiers. From the 92nd world war ii ends on april 30th, 1945 when german and italian troops they had fought since august surrender. Most of them were excited and felt as though they were going to get a chance to see some action. Under the leadership of general mcarthur and admiral nimits admiral forces took to the campaign that led to the japanese homeland. In the thick of ferocious fighting, the first to engage the enemy in Ground Combat was the 1st battalion of the 24th infantry. Black Marine Companies are employed to serve alongside white Marine Assault units in the most desperate fighting of the war. It was like a utility company, that could be used in any capacity, even in frontline combat, because when the marines went on tearaway, Something Like a thousand people got killed in three days fight. I think they lost approximately 4,000 on iwojima. They lost thousands on okinawa. When youre on that beachhead and theyre dropping those mortars and artillery shells on you, thats about as much frontline combat as you can get in. Marine Ammunition Companies are on the beach in the invasion of the marianas, carrying ammo to the front lines and Building Supply dumps. Africanamerican performed much needed Construction Projects on the far flung islands of the pacific including what is now New Caledonia and new georgia. The invasion of iwojima depends on the ducks, the amphibious vehicles manned by africanamerican army operators, they bring 105 millimeter howitzers ashore. I came off there with my amphibious duck loaded with seven marines on the radio, dont come in on red beach, it was too hot, come in on green. The water was real rough because, you know, youve got to have training to know how to drive that duck around when the water is rough and your ramp is coming up and down. Well, i tell you, i was scared going in, i was scared coming back. All that fire over the top and you dont know whats going to hit you. On shore, black marines face a nightmare of enemy fire with the invasion force. I hit iwojima with the 34th marine depot company, about d plus 3, this was the nights of d plus 3. And they put me and a few other black marines up to hold that line. It was kind of scary, of course i wasnt afraid because perhaps i didnt have sense enough to be afraid. I always felt that anything horrible that happened would happen to somebody else, not me. As it grew on and got darker i realized that i was up on that line by myself. There being no light so you can see. All around me i could hear japanese talking. You knew that the enemy was out there, and you wonder whether or not youd be able to get into the beach safely or whether or not, perhaps, youd have problems getting in. The intensity of the fire on such a small area as that, one could have been killed at any one time, at any one place. Black sailors would also set a standard for valor in the pacific. Aboard the battleship West Virginia at pearl harbor, navy messmen doorry miller mans an antiaircraft gun and engages in attacking japanese planes, miller will go down with his ship later in the war. Another messmen, alonzo swan, shoots down planes diving towards his ship, the uss intrepid. Four black sailors are awarded the navys second highest honor, the navy cross. Swan will wait 50 years to receive his medal. The legacy of swan and miller is continued during the invasion of okinawa as black naval gunners helped destroy the horde of attacking kamikaze planes. The japanese sent suicide planes to land on okinawa. We saw japanese planes diving into the trying to dive into the ships. The navy gunners blew them up in midair. Most pride, i think, is having to put your life on the line for your country. You feel as if you would have lost your life for a good reason, or good purpose. Im proud to have been a marine and youll find most black marines think the same way that i do. If this country ever went to war, i wanted to be a definite part of that war. Word came out that they wanted volunteers, colored troops they called us then, to volunteer to fight in white units as integrated unit. I was told we would be integrated. We got ridiculed by a lot of combat troops that came over. We went overseas early in the war to help build the airports and so forth for the 8th and 9th air forces and after they got there we were constantly ridiculed as, you know, as they ridiculed blacks at that time. I liked action and alfred didnt have enough action for me. I was in the army and i wanted to see some action. By december 1944 the army faces a dangerous shortage. Few white combat replacement troops are left in the european theater. When the germans launch a counteroffensive in the ardens the need for reenforcements becomes crucial. Theres only one place to turn, the allblack support units behind the lines. For the first time in the war the army asks africanamerican soldiers to take their places in some bat units with white soldiers. The response exceeds all expectations. Saying anybody want to sign up for the infantry, didnt hear no more about it, the next day i went to town and i came back the medical officer was there, examining people, you know, for the infantry. And all over the next day, they was on. Almost 5,000 black soldiers volunteered. They know they are training the safety of duty in the rear to risk their lives on the front lines. When we volunteered to go into combat we automatically had to give up any rank that we had. We had to go in as privates. Oh, i was generous. I give up my stripes. I went from to private with a chance to get shot at. I was boiling for a fight. To be frank with you. I was boiling and stewing for a fight anyhow. It didnt make any difference to me, who i fought. To limit the effects of personnel losses, only 2,500 black soldiers are taken. In january they began infantry training. They sent troops who had been wounded and couldnt go back to their unit, infantry type sergeants, to train us. We received the best training anyone could receive to prepare to go into combat. Six weeks later 53 platoons of black infantry men led by white lieutenants and platoon sergeants joined white infantry and armored units at the front. They told us we would be integrated. Telling you we were not totally integrated, we became an extra platoon. When we got up there white soldiers were glad to see us from the beginning. They were glad to see anybody coming up there, they was catching hell. We got right up there in the thick of things and they taught us a whole lot right quick. Our first initial fire fight was interesting, the colonel came up and we had to take this load to town and the colonel said we might as well triumph. All the sudden everything break loose, everybody started scouting out. We ran through stealing and the germans they was and lieutenant say, come on back, with the smoke so we can withdraw. I said lieutenant, we done came this far, what we going to go back down for . We took the tunnel. After that, there was because they know we could do the job. I was pretty scared. I really tried to hold myself together but i was really sorry that i volunteered. I really didnt feel good about it at all, volunteering for this hideous duty. If youve never been in an artillery fight, you dont understand it. We under heavy artillery fire and i was so frightened that i grabbed my steel helmet and pulled it down to my feet. Now, this sounds stupid. I know you cant do that, but that is what fear will do to you. The army calls the platoons an experiment in integration. The relationship between the blacks and the white soldiers was very good. It was excellent. They are more like family, anytime anybody knows you in combat, you a family man. When the war in europe is over the theater commander tells the black infantry men that integration is over. Some return home. Others go back to segregated units. All of a sudden one morning they came up with a truck and picked us up, black soldiers up and carried us on back down into france and assigned us to a black outfit and i felt rather badly in that. I said, you mean to tell me this is whats happening to us after the war is over, theyre getting rid of us . The experiment shatters the belief that integrating combat units will cause social dissension. We proved to the world that we could fight, already proven by the 9th and 10th calvalry. We overdid the job because in world war ii, the black newspapers were saying let our boys fight. In vietnam they said let our boys stop fighting because they recognized the fact that combat kills people and we were ready for combat and we were laborious, true sense of the word. Anytime they had a tough position to be cracked they would send for the southern 61st. We continued and completed 183 days straight of combat duty and the only reason why we didnt do more is because the germans quit. The 761st tank battalion is activated on april 1st, 1942. I went to camp flaburn, louisiana and im not bragging about that place because it is about the worst they had in the United States. But that was where the 761st was located. In every job there was learn to be a driver, a bow gunner, a loader, and a gunner. And the tank commander. They were going to make that unit look good. No matter what happened, they were going to show people that blacks could fight tanks, and fight against the germans as well as the whites could. And in the long run they did a beautiful job of that. October 10th, 1944, the 761st lands at omaha beach. They are the armys first africanamerican tank battalion committed to combat. Thi they have been sent to help fight the germans elite tank corps. General patton had made a statement that they didnt have to worry about negros with tanks because it was too technical piece of equipment and yet, when he requested from the department of army to send him the best remaining separate tank battalion left in the United States, who should show up, but the 761st. We went not too far from thats where we all assembled and we got visited by general patton. And he told us that you know who he was, and he says i have nothing but the best, and i sent for you and he says dont let me down and dont let your people down. We were pinned down in these tanks, the first we had a hell of a we took no cities. We took those first three cities the first day and we unbuttoned, came out and they almost fell off their feet to see that we were black. Through november, the 761st battles its way through jusay and gublink. This unit had an exceptional record in combat. December 1944. The battle of the bulge. At bastogne, surrounded by germans t 101st airborne fights for survival. To relieve the 101st baton rush rushes elements of his 3rd army north, serving in support the 761st blasts its way from the sar river on december 24th north to new shat toe belgium where they arrive on the 30th. Behind every year there was a dead soldier, enemy or yours. There were groups of american gis massacred by the camp group private, 11 black soldiers from the 333rd Field Artillery battalion. When the bodies were recovered, then it was discovered that they had been mutilated. They had bashed some of their skulls in with rifle butts, gouged their eyes out with bayonets. We never fought as one unit all together. They just fit us all over the place and i think that even confused the germans, everywhere they looked they saw black tigers, they thought there was a whole bunch of us, only about 700 of us but they didnt know that. We had the speed and the 360 degree traversing of the turns, which the german tanks they had to turn the whole tank to operate fire on you. We could be traveling across 30, 35 miles an hour, and that turn was revolving 360 degrees. You keep firing and we was able to outflank or get into a whole position and knock them out. After the battle of the bulge units of the 761st go on to fight in belgium. In luxembourg. On march 3rd the 761st tank battalion enters germany. It reconstituted a task force and called it task force ryan and we tankers were given command of the operation. This was the outstanding and one total operation involving all of the battalion, and we broke a hole through the line, through the cig freed entire division went all the way to the rhine with no opposition whatsoever. My men were magnificent. The 761st captures 3,000 enemy troops and expends 50 tons of ammunition during force operations. Attaches again to the third army, the period head of the drive through austria. I wonder why did we pass all of these tanks to the side, the division, and here comes the 761st beat up, tired, to go in and lead the way. On the journey through germany, the 761st witnessed the horrors of war. It was a sign to the 71st Infantry Division at the same that the division was liberated camp. The name of the camp was one of the smaller refugee camps or concentration camps. The 761st meets the soviet union First Ukrainian front on may 6th. Now my husband has had lots of troops, but when he talks of soldiers, when he talks of fine soldiers of good soldiers, he talks about his soldiers who were the men of the 761st. We had a chance that the black man could be a good warrior. Well the impact of awarding the metal of honor to my thinking is that someone wants to sell their conscious. It should have been done at the time that these awards were made. That distinguished the Service Cross at the time they did these heroic acts. But it was a time of complication. It was a time of trouble between the races. We were a very Different Society in that time. For more than 50 years following World War Two no africanamericans are awarded the metal medal of honor. You have to go above and beyond the call of duty. We were just trying to keep them from coming down here further. Thats when we had a young man by the name of john fox. He was our observer. And he asked for our own fire on him to stop the germans that were coming down. It ought to make the country look a little more closely at what was done. By the black soldiers, what was done to the black soldiers. It ought to shed some light in a discharge co dark corner of our closet. The point man for company a, he lead the way coming into govern. His tank, and his leg from his knee all of the way up his leg. The medics said man, this is a Million Dollar award. And he said no, they need to move out. And he was giving orders saying be careful when you go over this hill. My tank commander told him back out, back out, back out. He said yes, i see them, but im going to engage them. And he did by that time big white flash got up by the tank on the side and he was killed. It was very important that it be done now while theyre comrades, the guys that fought alongside them in world war tii are still alive. The honor and the glory of it reflects on all of them. They were given permission to breakthrough the german lines to get to an objective. We broke through, you know we broke through they didnt the germans did not know that we were there. In the action, breaking through the lines, we neutralized a couple machine gun nests, we cut numerous lines. In may 1996, the pentagon forged names for the white house. There was a 1,200,000 black americans in uniform. This is an important symbolic act, but i dont think there is any way at this day and time that you can adequately recognize all they contributed and all that was denied them in terms of medals and honors and promotions. These sort of things, yo you know, there is no way that you can balance the books entirely if this were half a century down the road. All you can do is this im bodic act. It makes me feel sad that we did our job, we fought, but we were not appreciated. The africanamerican veterans of world war ii served a nation that was not able to serve them. They fought acism and racism. We should all be proud of the sacrifices they made on the snow covered fields of belgium and the skies other europe, and on the bloody beaches of iwo jima. Their legacy made my rise in the military possible. I stood on their shoulders, they made america a better place for all of us. They asked for no special recognition. They asked for no tribute. They just wanted to fight for their beloved country and they did. We oh thwe them our thanks. First blew tenant baker. John foxx, the 92nd infan try. Charles thomas. Staph sergeant ed war a. Carter, 12th armored division. Staph sergeant reuben rivers, 761st tank battalion. Private first class willie f. James junior. Private george watson, the 29dth quartermaster. Now and forever the truth will be known about these africanamericans who gave so much that the rest of us might be free. From sea to smiening sea. Weeknights this month were featuring American History tv programs as ang example of what is available on american tis tire tv. This was part of the study of the life and American History annual conference earlier this fall. Enjoy American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan 3. Sculptor sabin howard. The National Civic arts society hosted this event and provided the video. My name is justin shubo. Im president of the National Civil arts society. Were delighted you could join us to hear sabin howard present his magnificent classical design for the National World war i memorial. The National Civic art society educates and empowers our leaders in the promotion of public art and