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Essay on Black Americans who were in WWII
Combat experience showed that troops performed best under good officers, regardless of their skin color. For the most part, the American military establishment considered the "experiment" of black combat troops a failure. The black press blamed segregation, while the Army's upper echelons cited racial inferiority, though not all white officers shared that opinion. A look at the facts, however, suggests that both sides were wrong. The Buffalo Soldiers did indeed break through the Gothic Line. The setback in February 1945 had much to do with the German coastal guns, which survived repeated efforts to silence them.
The US Army did have its share of problems. In some cases whole platoons were disarmed and arrested because of their performance, although many of the charges against the men were later dropped. It should be noted that, owing to the Army's inability to supply the number of replacements needed by the US Army, troops who had formerly been absent without leave were sent to the black division from the East Coast processing center. Considering the US Army's overall success during the Italian campaign, the unit's experience in World War II sounds far more like a success story than anything else.
Black Americans in uniform found themselves in a rather compromising situation during World War II. The black press, almost unanimously opposed to a segregated military, promoted the Double V campaign--a military victory for America overseas and a political victory for the black community at home.
Judge William H. Hastie, the civilian aide to the secretary of war from 1940 to 1943, waged many political battles with the U.S. government on behalf of the black community. Hastie fought for the inclusion of blacks in combat units, the Medical Corps, the Army Nurse Corps and the Army Air Corps. He even struggled to abolish the unscientific practice of separating blood plasma according to race......
