Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles

by Tanya Lee Stone Degree in English from Oberlin College

opinion surveys given by the Army Research Branch (ARB) showed that before the Battle of the Bulge, only 33 percent of white soldiers had a positive response to including blacks in their companies. Afterward, a whopping 77 percent felt favorably about the idea. Brigadier General Davis said that the decision to integrate in the Battle of the Bulge was “the greatest since enactment of the Constitutional amendments following the emancipation [of slaves].” He wanted the ARB’s opinion surveys made public to prove that integration would not cause mass disruption, but those who favored military segregation — including Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall and Secretary of War Henry Stimson — said no. Marshall argued that “the conditions under which the platoons were organized were most unusual” during that time, and therefore were not a good measure of success.