The Noble Role Of African American Soldiers In World War II Under Intense Discrimination And Racism
October 01, 2020 2764
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Despite the continuous racism and discrimination faced by the African Americans, the truth remains that the black man in America has sacrificed more in building America to where it is now.
Many years after slavery, black men went to the fronts of
the second world war and fought for America without any bias or prejudice. They
served and died in all branches of the military.
Around 909,000 African Americans were in the Army, with a peak of 700,000 serving at one point in 1944. Because of discrimination in the military ranks, the majority of black soldiers were placed in support units, mainly as quartermasters, engineers, and transportation corps.
It was until 1944 that blacks were permitted to serve in the
combat units, therefore, only about 50,000 African-American troops were
involved in active combat during the war.
Because of
discriminatory practices, African Americans served in black-only infantry,
cavalry, air corps, marine corps, tank and field artillery divisions. In the
Navy, African Americans served in various capacities, though many were
prevented from going to sea; a notable exception occurred in 1943 when a
submarine chaser and a destroyer escort were staffed with predominantly black
crews.
Aside from
segregation, other forms of discrimination included the difficulties
experienced by black soldiers wanting to train as officers. Also, some other major issues were the separation
of blood plasma taken from white and black soldiers and the issuance of
"blue discharges" to many African-American soldiers. These were
mainly administrative discharges that were neither honorable nor dishonorable.
About 22% of
these discharges were issued to African Americans - a large percentage were
from the African-American servicemen. The discharge often resulted in black
recipients being denied benefits of the G.I. Bill and difficulties in being
accepted for future employment.
Many African
American soldiers served with distinction and received medals for bravery and
valor. However, none was awarded the highest military award, the Medal of
Honor, for their outstanding roles during the war. However, in 1997, President
Clinton awarded the medal to seven World War II servicemen One was still alive,
and the other six were awarded posthumously. These men were meant to receive
these medals immediately after the war, but racism stood in the war
of that.
There are
accounts of Black-only units that have become famous for the special part they
played in the war effort. Very prominent at the time was the 92nd Infantry
Division and the 761st Black Panther Tank Battalion, which led a 183-day advance
by American forces from France to Germany, and the praise by Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower for the efforts of the black-only 99th Fighter Squadron.
The end of
segregation and discrimination against African Americans began with President
Roosevelt's Executive Order 8802 issued on June 25, 1941.
President Roosevelt had been under immense pressure to desegregate the military by civil rights groups. The Executive order was clearly his way of avoiding a march of 100,000 blacks on Washington threatened by labor organizer A. Phillip Randolph, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League. The Executive order created the ‘Fair Employment Practices Commission’ tasked with the elimination of race or color-based discrimination in the armed forces.
However, the commission was underfunded and understaffed, and its powers were minimal. As a
result, the discriminatory practices continued for the duration of the war and even
beyond it. Again, to curb the segregation, President Truman, on July 26, 1948,
issued Executive Order 9981, which sought to end any form of segregation in the
armed forces, and also in schools and neighborhoods. But It took until 1954 for
all the black-only units to be disbanded by the army.
There was, in
fact, a temporary lifting of the institutionalized segregation in the armed
forces when, in the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944, American white infantry
found themselves desperately outnumbered. Gen. Eisenhower solved the problem by
allowing black platoons to be absolved into the regular white units. This was
one of the instances where the African-American soldiers saved the day.
The symbol
adopted by blacks in America’s armed forces during World War II was the
"Double V." First publicized in the widely read black newspaper, The
Pittsburgh Courier, the symbol represented a double victory against the foreign
enemies and the enemies at home - segregation, discrimination, and prejudice.
African
Americans also played an active role on the home front, irrespective of the
segregation and bullying at the time. Many
contributed to the purchase of war bonds, volunteering in various capacities, and working in industries that supported the war effort. It is recorded that more
than 2 million blacks worked for the defense industries, with another 2 million
joining the federal civil service.
Because of the
war, the overall economic situation of African Americans improved greatly. This
was largely because of labor shortages leading the government to seek all
available manpower, regardless of skin color.
Many
impoverished blacks from the South had to migrate to the North, Midwest and
West to seek work in the industry, as it offered better pay than the farming and
domestic service positions open to blacks in the South.
It was recorded
that about 700,000 blacks moved during the war, with 400,000 leaving the South.
However, this migratory shift also led to a rise in racial tensions,
particularly in overcrowded cities, with race riots in Detroit and Harlem in
1943.