African American Troops in World War II

Osprey Elite #158

by Alexander M. Bielakowski, Raffaele Ruggeri (Illustrations)

Osprey's study of the African Americans' involvement in World War II (1939-1945). Despite the contribution of black units to the American Expeditionary Force in World War I (1914-1918), and the commissioning of hundreds of black officers to lead them, the small interwar US Army continued to regard them as unsuited to both leadership roles and handling modern technology. Although African Americans had to strive against prejudice for every chance to show what they could achieve, in fact the wartime US Army conceded opportunities for leadership unparaleled in American civil society at that date. In World War II tens of thousands served in segregated units. While the majority were denied the opportunity of combat, a minority of all-black, black-officered units proved their worth in all theaters and a number of roles: black officer fighter pilots (the "Tuskegee Airmen") blazed the trail, followed by several tank and tank-destroyer battalions and a few field artillery units; and more than 20,000 black infantrymen served under both white and black officers. The Army also created the first fully integrated units, whose success prompted President Truman to order the complete integration of the military in 1948. The US Navy and Marines were slower to allow blacks to serve in combat roles and to commission black officers, but by 1945 two complete ships' companies were composed of African-Americans (though with white officers).

Genres: History, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2007

Reviews

[KOMET]

This is a comprehensive, concise, well-written history of the roles played by African American men and women in the U.S. military during the Second World War.

During the war, the role of African Americans in a segregated U.S. Army expanded considerably. Besides quartermaster and service units, African Americans served honorably as infantrymen, combat engineers, artillerists, and tankers in a number of tank destroyer and tank battalions in Europe. Also, for the first time, African Americans were given the opportunities to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps (later United States Army Air Forces = USAAF) as fighter pilots first with the 99th Fighter Squadron and later with the 332nd Fighter Group, establishing a fine combat record in Europe. Furthermore, African American soldiers also served in Asia and the Pacific.

The book also highlights the roles performed by African Americans in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the U.S. Merchant Marine.

Anyone interested in learning about a still largely unheralded saga in U.S. history will gain much knowledge from reading this book.

[Martin Koenigsberg]

What a great book! I was learning throughout the entire book, and I may have read over 200 books on World War II. This is Osprey Publishing's take on African American Troops in WWII- so we get a look at the Army, Army Air Corps, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and even the Merchant Marine. There's a little over all history of the arm of service, then a history of a few notable units, such as the Tuskegee Airmen, all around a central Colour Section with illustrations of memorable soldiers or interesting uniforms. The book ends with a strong series of notes for the colour sections, and there are wonderfully interesting black and white photos sprinkled liberally throughout the book.

Race and Racism is obviously the central theme of this book. This might be a good book for any school library to add, so that young African Americans can get sense of their heritage. I was floored to learn that the Coast Guard desegregated first, from necessity and lack of personnel and was already well on its way before Truman made the big move. I had no idea that almost 20,000 African Americans were in the Marine Corps in WWII. Every page gave me a new appreciation for a whole group I feel a connection with. My father was an officer in a "Colored" Engineering unit in the PTO and the was left with a life long respect for Urban and Jazz Culture that was passed on to me. Fighting Jim Crow- as well as Tojo, Hitler, and Mussolini- must have been so depressing- and yet these fine gentlemen were undaunted. Impressive patriotism.

As I've already stated, this is a GREAT book for any youngster interested in the period. Lots of pictures and simple compelling text. Any child of colour can thrill to real achievements that paved the way for the Civil Right movement. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, this is also a great book- I'm fired up to paint up some ETO and PTO African American troops for my tables. While few got into actual combat, those that did will make for challenging dioramas and scenarios. "Red Ball Express" convoys as Objectives, anyone? And if we can excite a few more African Americans to gaming? This book is cool on so many levels- check it out.

[Kayleen Reusser]

This thin volume contained good information about African-American troops of all branches in WWII. I especially enjoyed info on Ben O. Davis Jr. rising through the ranks to become the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. On December 9, 1998, he was advanced to four-star general.