Oh beautiful many of us felt like we would never really get a chance to fight. I didnt realize at the time it was because of the color of my skin. America 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, german troops occupied nearly every inch of europe, from france to russia, to the baltic sea to africa. In the pacific, the Japanese Army has captured many areas. Pearl harbor would stun the United States into war. The first thing i did was go down to the Army Recruiting station and enlist in the service of my country. I was told there was no quarter for black troops. You got to remember that this country was very discriminatory, d segregated and there was no change. First of all, black sailors as sailors per se 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 found no reason to slack off because of the segregated nor being in a racist society. Africanamericans participation in the Armed Service was regulated by firmly held belief, blacks should be organized in segregated units. Blacks should be used only in service units. Blacks should not command whites. The motivation was basic. I was a black man. I felt if i fought for my country, shed my blood if necessary, when i come back home, i would be treated as equal. I earned it. In a sense, i believed in two wars, the war against germany and the other was a war against segregation. Africanamericans would fight, bleed and die in world war ii. Their performance on the battlefields 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. One battle would take much longer to win. It would take more than 50 years for america to fully recognize the heroism. More than 50 years ago, unspeakable tyranny threatened the worlds freedom. Men and women in overwhelming numbers 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. To ensure 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. But its a model of encourage and character. As you watch the scenes unfold, you will get a glimpse of the magnificent effort of freedom and justice. The triumph of these africanamerican men and women at war and at home, a Lasting Legacy for 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. The shiny examples of free men and women everywhere. Black americans have always fought for this country. In the american revolution, 5,000 fight for freedom. The war of 1812, thousands more served on land and at sea. The civil war, africanamericans fight for freedom and dignity. The 9th and 10th cavalry rejtmerejt regiment the western frontier as the Buffalo Soldiers. The 24th and 25th infantry helped the rough riders at a crucial moment in the battle of san juan hill. 400,000 africanamericans served in world war i. The 92nd and the 93rd infantry. But it is under the command of the french army that black american infantry would prove it 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 in the navy and coast guard. By the mid 1930s, 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 davis jr. Graduates from west point in 1936. He is the first africanamerican to graduate from the point in the 20th century. N the reserve officer training corps, rotc, allowed some africanamerican College Students to become officers. Meanwhile, africanamerican organizations and newspapers petitioned president franklin d. Roosevelt and his administration for dignity and equality in the armed forces. Theres a grave apprehension among negroes 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. 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 replacement 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 an executive order 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. 1941 a date which will live in infamy. The v for victory becomes the double v for africanamericans, victory over fascism and racism at home. It becomes the rallying cry for africanamerican forces. From black entertainers joining the Campaign Rallies to workers on the assembly line. Africanamericans help boost morale and supply Americas Armed forces. We did what we did because we had to do it. We had over 50,000 black soldiers and they were from the port, where the goods come in, up into the jungles which is where we were. Early in the war, africanamerican troops are building roads and airstrips for future battles. One of the wars Construction Projects is a road running from leado to china, over the himalayas, through the jungles. It would be more than 1,000 miles long. The indians were also fighting up around burma where the japanese were fighting at the time. We also supplied american supplies and we also supplied the chinese. Of 15,000 troops, 60 are africanamericans. The 823rd engineer battalion begins work on the road in december of 1942. The 849th and others soon joined them. Trains pull into a transfer shed. An attachment of negro engineers began building the road in 1942. They handle every phase of the operations incident to moving vital replacements along the road. 25 months later, a negro was driving the lead vehicle. In driving, instead of shifting automatically, double clutching, when you start going up the mountain, you dont have time to you have a loaded truck. You slip past the gears, rough on the truck, but you got to your destination faithfully. On the other side of the world, africanamerican troops battled arctic temperature and is blinding snow to build the highlands. Some of them had never drove a bulldozer, had never drove a truck. They learned how to do that. The terrain was very rough and it would vibrate which made it rather difficult for the bulldozers, 32 below zero to 65 below zero. Trucks would freeze to the ground. On the highway, the black troops were housed in tents while the white soldiers were in huts and housing some of the army bases. The black soldiers were inside of the tents, the frost was about an inch thick which acted as an insulation. From april 1942 until july 1943 black soldiers work on the 1600mile highway that would link alaska, canada and the United States to supply allied forces. It was a great accomplishment. Its a great feat and some compare it with building the panama canal. Planes for russia at fairbanks, alaska. The United States got 8,000 planes to russia by way of the alaskan highway. Africanamerican soldiers 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 this. 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 dont have any coloreds in the military. There are other places for you and we will not have any. The basis for their refusal was a staff report which had determined 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 biplane 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. While she was there, she met chief anderson who was the chief pilot of the primary phase of flying. And she went to the dismay of the secret service, 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 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 they had not had the advantage of such training before. We had come to the realization 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. Lieutenant colonel is in command. Trained for pursuit, the 99th ironically flies Bombing Missions in north africa through the summer of 1943. They had great problems in 1943 because the comhernd of maa devout d devout segregationist. They were kept segregated in every way, shape, or 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. The lack of significant fighter engagements endangers their existence. Davis is ordered back to the states to defend the 99th record. General davis had to fight very hard to keep the unit flying. The air force recommendation was to abandon the 99th and to stop the training of the 332nd. Lieutenant colonel davis defense keeps the Tuskegee Airmen flying. With huge losses mounting, the 332nd Fighter Group moves to italy in april of 1944 to begin bomber escort duty. Davis snapped at the opportunity he had been flying a very obsolete airplane, he was given initially the p47 for 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 bomber can make sure the bombs fall where theyre supposed. To we flew around the smoke to pick them up in the end. Its a sad commentary when you see those guys flying in like bugs, seeing them explode. On mission after mission, bomber crews look today the 332nds 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 and the bombers would be by themselves. The 332nd never lost a bomber to an enemy fighter until 1945. Thats a unique record. No white unit stayed in the hunt as long as they did could make that claim. One of the armys bestkept secrets was that there was a black Fighter Group. We had no idea that the red tails who had given us the finest escort, whose escort we preferred, were black pilots. Not an idea in the world. The Tuskegee Airmen, were a bunch of courageous, 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, they serve to win the war. The Army Nurse Corps has 48 africanamerican nurses. By 1944 there will be 220 black army nurses. Africanamerican females in the Womens Army Corps also have an uphill battle to serve their country. Charity adams commanded the postal directory battalion. They had been serving overseas for two years at this time, but for some reason, the usual black troops may make 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 that i was a member of the 6888 central postal directory. It was the first and only battalion of black women to serve overseas during the Second World War and im very, very proud of that. Stationed in england and later france, the 6888 processes mail, forwarding packages and letters to americans throughout europe. Their job was redirecting mail that had one attempted delivery based on the last address to people back home had. But, of course, in war times, 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. The coast guard 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 1 million africanamericans who enter paid employment during the war are women. Needed more workers to make more ammunition for our fighting forces. 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. He said you black s. O. B. , i heard we commissioned you guys, but i never thought i would see one. I was standing up all dressed up in my blues and i never got so many hate stares in my life, from white servicemen who looked at me and said, who does he think he is . The navy resist taking blacks except as stewards. The marine corps remains all white. In 1942 the need for manpower cracks the navy and marine corpss color line. The secretary of the navy said that black folks couldnt handle the modern arms of warfare that they had in the marine corps. That was a challenge to me and thats why i went in. In june 1942, the u. S. Marine corps enlists blacks from across the country. Africanamerican recruits arrive for boot camp. For many of them, mumford point 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 we were called then, south of the mason dixon line, but i had no personal experience and my parents who were southerners never talked about it. Colonel samuel a. Woods, mumford points Commanding Officer is sympathetic of the challenges faced by his recruits. Colonel wood was in my opinion, the fairest white man i ever met and seen. He would have us write a letter to washington in which he was complaining about the way we were treated as human beings in north carolina. We did all the things that all marines do, close order drills, handtohand combat, using maps, 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. 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