Kyle Tatum

Those Forgotten Soldiers

African Americans in World War 2

Essay Contents

I. Thesis

II. World War 2 Early On

III. Opportunities, Early Enlistment, and Integration Efforts During the War

IV. End of the War and Full-Time Efforts of Integration

V. Honors

VI. Bibliography

Thesis

The movie Miracle at St. Anna begins with a bitter African-American military veteran

watching a scene from The Longest Day, observing how every actor portrayed on screen in that

scene was White before saying his first line: Pilgrim, we fought for this country too. This

sentiment is what Im attempting to honor in this essay, displaying the efforts made by African-

Americans in their attempt to put their very lives on the line fighting in their country for the

right to fight in another, equally alongside their diverse brothers-in-arms. To seek new

opportunities outside of the tyranny they faced in their homes, so that they may fight against the

tyranny faced by others elsewhere, but ultimately to conquer the battle on both of these fronts.
Kyle Tatum

World War 2 Early On

World War 2 began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. This brought

Britain, alongside its Commonwealth, and France to declare war on Germany. Japan was allowed

to conquer and expand its territory in southern and eastern Asia (a campaign that had been taking

place a few years before the war started), taking over the Philippines and many parts of China.

Despite all of the action going on during this time, the US did not see any active participation in

the war for the first 2 years. It would remain Neutral for some time, but would later send supplies

(provisions and soldiers, mostly) to its Allies in Europe. The US would not join in the war until

after the Pearl Harbor attack in December of 1941. Supported by an overwhelming sense of

Patriotism from its citizens, the United States turned the tide of the war with its entrance, or as

the Japanese Admiral who lead the attack on Pearl Harbor purportedly stated I fear all we have

done is awoken a sleeping giant

Opportunities, Early Enlistment, and Integration Efforts During the War

When the US finally entered the war in 1941, Americans from all walks of life sought to help in

any way possible. Millions of men volunteered for military service, while women usually

volunteered to work as nurses and engineers/mechanics. However, the opportunities that could

be seen here were not just for the white citizens of America; black Americans used these chances

that the war provided to seek out employment that provided for them. Employment in the

industrial workforce (military-related plants and factories) that provided many jobs and a higher

wage were very attractive. [6] (Shi and Tendall, p. 968)

During the war, around 2.5 million African-Americans had registered for the draft, and 1 million

went on to serve in the armed forces. However, at the time of the US entry into the war the

armed forces were still segregated. Black soldiers were assigned to all black units and made to
Kyle Tatum

primarily serve labor positions and often didnt see combat, black officers could not command

white soldiers, and bases had segregated facilities (which often saw incidents due to racial

tension). Even the simple act of trying to enlist could see resentment at the hands of bigots, as

can be seen by 1st Lt. Vernon Bakers recollection of his experience with the first time he tried to

enlist: I walked down to the recruiting stationand [the sergeant there] looked up at me and

asked What do you want? and I said Well, I want to join the army and he looked up at me and

said We dont have any quotas for you people. He would only be successful in enlisting when

he tried again several weeks later with a different sergeant, except when he requested to be put

down as quartermaster the sergeant wrote infantry instead, with Baker remarking I didnt say

anything, because I was in. Baker would later be a part of US fighting force in Italy under the

92nd Infantry Division. [3]

Another case of encountered racial tension was studied over in the Court-Martial of a much more

famous American: Jackie Robinson. Sources detailing the events tell of a story that as Robinson

was leaving a military hospital and boarded a bus, he sat down next to a woman who was the

wife of an officer-friend. The driver of the bus then ordered Robinson to the back of the bus,

despite the fact that they were only 4 rows from the back. Robinson then refused, and rightly so;

Army buses were unsegregated at the time. [5] (MacGregor Jr., p. 148) When they arrived at the

bus station, he found himself being detained by on-base MPs and officers (one or more of whom

may have been using racial slurs towards Robinson). After this incident, and later ones in the

same day, Robinson found himself in a Court-Martial. The charges for the incident regarding his

behavior on the bus had already been dropped, but he was still being charged for behaving with

disrespect towardshis superior officer and willful disobedience of lawful command ofhis

superior. However, once the case had concluded, all charges against Robinson were dropped as
Kyle Tatum

his attorney consistently showed that a racially hostile environment may have been the source

of Robinsons behavior. [1] [4]

Integration efforts for the armed forces never saw much progress until 1944, and some service

branches of the military were still segregated later in the war. An example of such is the Air

Force, which remained segregated due to internal attitudes against desegregating the branch,

arguing that segregating units was an efficient method of avoiding dangerous social conflicts

and utilizing low-scoring recruits and one General opined Unless strict unit segregation was

imposed, such contacts would be inevitable. [5] (MacGregor Jr., p. 271) In 1941, before the US

had entered the war, President Roosevelt put out Executive Order 8802 which made

discrimination in the defense industry and government illegal [7] and, as mentioned earlier, Army

buses had been unsegregated since mid-1944. However, as the war progressed further, the need

for more soldiers became apparent. This factor, as well as pressure from African-Americans in

the March on Washington Movement (MOWM) and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. This lead to

General Eisenhower allowing to let black soldiers to fight (in all black platoons that were

commanded by white officers). However, at the end of the war segregation was rolled back and

wouldnt see attention until a few years later. [6] (Shi and Tendall, p. 970)

End of the War and Full-Time Efforts of Integration

The European front was soon coming to an end, leading to the suicide of Adolf Hitler on April

30th, 1945. The Pacific front ended with the first and only use of nuclear weapons on the

Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Emperor Hirohito to order a surrender.

The war was officially ended on the September 2, 1945, when some of the most striking and

heartfelt words of the war were spoken. General MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the

Allied Powers, opened the official surrender ceremony with a speech saying these words at one
Kyle Tatum

point: It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion

a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past -- a world founded upon

faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most

cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice. [8]

However, this sentiment of a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his

most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice seemed to lag behind for those who

were black. Some black soldiers wrote directly to the president, urging him to take immediate

action on integrating the military. One black veteran, 52 year old Presly Holliday, Quartermaster

Sergeant of the QM Corps, wrote to President Truman two days after the war had officially

ended, writing I urgently request that you exercise your authority as Commander-in-Chief of the

armed forces to direct by executive order the enlistment of Negroes and their organization into

units of every branch of the regular army, to at least the full proportion they bear to that of all

other races in the population. [3] (McGuire, p. 140)

Black soldiers would not see full integration, through equal treatment and opportunity in the

armed services, until President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 in 1948. Truman, in

collaboration with Civil Rights Movement leaders of the time (such as Walter White, who was

head of the NAACP at the time), also issued an executive order to create the Presidents

Committee on Civil Rights. Among other things, the group recommended actions such as the

establishment of a permanent civil rights commission, a federal anti-lynching act, a permanent

Fair Employment Practices Commission, etc. It also investigated civil rights in the armed

forces, and came to the conclusion that The injustice of calling men to fight for freedom while

subjecting them to humiliating discrimination within the fighting forces is at once apparent.

Furthermore, by preventing entire groups from making their maximum contribution to the
Kyle Tatum

national defense, we weaken our defense to that extent and impose heavier burdens on the

remainder of the population. [5] (MacGregor Jr., p. 294-296)

Honors

Ive decided to round out this essay with an honoring to the African-American troops, those

Buffalo Soldiers, who fought in WW2. Because whether they fought through hell, Europe, or the

social barricades of America, none can disagree that they had proven themselves time and time

again as trustworthy, fierce, and persevering. It is why I round out this essay honoring 1st Lt.

Vernon Baker and the 92nd, for their morale and success in the battles for Italy; Jackie Robinson,

for standing his ground and defending himself against the odds, successfully; to Joe Louis and

Sugar Ray Robinson, for standing against racial bigotry and segregation. To all the African-

American soldiers forgotten to time, we thank you for the service you did and the examples you

set. Because it doesnt matter, whether a Harlem Hellfighter or Buffalo Soldier; fighting on

arrival, and fighting for survival, what these soldiers did for us during the war, in the fields of

battle or the streets of Washington, was insurmountable. Peace to the fallen, and the forgotten.
Kyle Tatum

Bibliography
Sources are cited in Chicago style, using superscript in-text citation with parenthetical citation

added for specification when needed.

Primary Sources:
1. "Material from Jackie Robinson Court-Martial". 2008. Washington, D.C. N/A. National
Archives. Re-hosted document images to http://imgur.com/a/cbPgQ from
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/spring/robinson.html
2. "Oral History: Vernon Baker". 2013. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
VdX3w_hb18&ab_channel=TheNationalWWIIMuseum.
3. McGuire, Phillip. 1983. Taps For A Jim Crow Army: Letters From Black Soldiers In World
War II. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.
Secondary Sources:
4. Vernon, John. 2008. "Jim Crow, Meet Lieutenant Robinson: A 1944 Court-Martial".
National Archives.
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/spring/robinson.html.
5. MacGregor Jr., Morris J. 1981. Defense Studies: Integration of The Armed Forces 1940-
1965. US Army Center of Military History
Publications. http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/050/50-1-1/index.html
6. Shi, David Emory, and Tindall, George Brown. 2016. America: A Narrative History Vol. 2.
10th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
7. "The First Measured Century: Timeline: Events - Exec Order 8802". 2017. PBS.Org.
Accessed July 5. http://www.pbs.org/fmc/timeline/eexec8802.htm.
8. "Douglas Macarthur - Opening And Closing Remarks Aboard The USS Missouri 1945
(Transcript-Audio-Video)". 2016. Americanrhetoric.Com.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurussmissourispeech.htm.