We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq

by Yvonne Latty, Ron Tarver

Black Americans have had an ongoing presence in the American military, from the Revolution to the Civil War to Vietnam to the War in Iraq, yet their contributions are often relegated to a footnote of history, if mentioned at all. The recent successes and wide visibility of African Americans in the military -- such as those of Colin Powell and Shoshanna Johnson -- belie a harsh the Army was segregated until the Korean War. Only in the last fifty years have blacks been allowed to serve in a manner commensurate with both their skills and commitment. Now, in a book that honors their service to their country, more than two dozen veterans and military personnel, including Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, one of the foremost spokespersons to the media on the War in Iraq, speak for themselves and their peers about their experiences -- in combat, in the barracks, and in their hometowns after they returned from war. Each profile is accompanied by photographs of the men and women from their days in uniform, as well as specially commissioned contemporary portraits from acclaimed photographer Ron Tarver. With stories of patriotism combined with a determination to overcome obstacles, We Were There is an inspiring account of the extraordinary sacrifices of everyday Americans.

Genres: Nonfiction, World War II, History, War

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[James S. Butler]

The Black Brave

Outstanding literature on the trials and tribulations of men who fought the enemy for this country but we're treated like dirt. Men such as my father who have their best only to come home and be treated as second class citizens.

[Jessica]

I finished the entire book in one sitting. Some of the stories were upsetting, but not totally surprising.

[Joseph Hirsch]

This was a fairly fascinating, albeit short, book. Black veterans of every conflict from World War Two up to the more current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq share their experiences. They recount painful details of discrimination, in addition to the usual horrors that one finds attendant to war. Indeed, the book deserves a ton of credit for the balanced way it shows how black Americans were ostracized from sharing in equal citizenship with their white cohorts, and yet, despite this, how they persevered in their soldiering duties without giving in to hatred or bitterness. The book makes no bones about the racial skeletons in America's closet, but neither does it belabor the point, or have an axe to grind. The best tales for me were the ones that centered on the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. It was also fascinating and tragic to hear how black GIs received better treatment from their Japanese and Nazi (!) captors than they many times received at home, from white Americans.

If I have one minor complaint (the reason for the four, rather than five-star rating), it's that some of the narratives are just too short. The reader sometimes only gets two to three page thumbnail sketches of some very fascinating individuals, who suffered through the privations of German stalags or the liberating of the concentration camps. It would have been nice to see some of these very abbreviated tales expanded, if not to book length, then at least to more than a couple of mere pages.

The above is a fairly minor cavil, though, against a book that, as a veteran, and as an American, I found to be an illuminating, and above all necessary reading experience.

[Sara]

Thought this was great. My only wish was that many of the stories were longer.