The UNTOLD Stories of Black Soldiers #blackhistory

although African-Americans had participated in every major conflict since the Revolutionary War they had done so almost completely segregated during World War II more than one and a half million African-Americans served in the United States armed forces during World War II while still encountering unequal treatment and racial segregation in the United States military and if this is the type of content that you enjoy you can find more content like this at onemikehistory.com also if you want to support the channel you can do so at my buy me coffee or my patreon page in the description below also please give us five stars on Apple podcast and go support the YouTube channel without further Ado let's get started with lynching and racial violence surging at the end of World War One the years after the Great War sought very few changes with regards to social political and economic status for African Americans this despite their service and sacrifice black veterans did not secure their own full citizenship they were met only with more racism and more violence so as the United States prepared to enter World War II the treatment of African Americans increately became under scrutiny as another generation considered whether military service might be a chance to force actual progress after the disappointing treatment of African Americans during World War One black leaders sought some leverage from the United States Ward rhetoric to ensure equal treatment for African-American servicemen during World War II including a chance to actually fight and maybe gain the same respect afforded two white troops leaders like W.B Du Bois urged black Americans to put their grievances aside during the first world war so at the start of World War II the boys again asked black Americans to fight for democracy while sadly admitting that the first world war did not bring us democracy in Norwood II what Hitler needed to be stopped on April 16 1940 the United States instituted selective training and Service Act it required that all men from ages 21 to 45 registered for the draft civil rights leaders pressured Franklin Delano Roosevelt to allow black men the opportunity to serve in integrated regiments although African Americans had participated in every single conflict since the Revolutionary War they had done so completely segregated and Henry Stenson War secretary was completely uninterested in changing that status quo so FDR decided that black men could register for the draft but they would remain segregated and the military would determine how blacks would be inducted into service The Selective Service Act did allow for African Americans to join the military in numbers proportionate to the representation in the United States and also provided for black and white officers to be able to train together and in addition to establishing an aviation training school for black officers after the United States entered World War II African Americans created the double V campaign in 1942 in support of the nation's war effort the V was World War II symbol that unified the war effort to achieve victory for democracy over tyranny of the Axis powers so the double V campaign called for a victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home the double V campaign had some limited success and it helped create some legal and policy changes but failed to achieve actual equality within the United States military around that same time in 1941 Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed executive order 8802 which outlawed racial discrimination in the War Industry it established the Fair Employment Practices commission to enforce the executive order but they didn't actually have any authority to regulate Employment Practices and face increasing resistance from Southern States Alabama Governor Franklin Dixon youth a government contract to operate cotton Mills in state prisons rather than agree to the fepc's non-discriminatory requirements and without Southern States participation the Fair Employment Practices committee was doomed just one year after the creation of the fepc African Americans comprised just three percent of all World workers in the 1946 Southern Democrats had eliminated funding for the fepc so in June of 1946 The Fair Employment Practices committee was dead despite African-Americans eagerness to fight in World War II the same Jim Crow discrimination in regular Society was practicing almost every branch of the military many bases training facilities were located in the South and regardless of regions all bases has separate blood banks hospitals medical staff Barracks recreational facilities for black soldiers white soldiers and local white residents routinely harassed them and despite this African-Americans joined up in increasing numbers in 1941 there were fewer than 4 4 000 African-Americans serving in the armed forces with only 12 officers of 1945 it was 1.2 million black Americans serving in uniform with about 4 million women joined the women's Army Corps the women's Army Corps was a branch of the United States Army created as an auxiliary unit in May of 1942 while serving abroad the military simply didn't think that African Americans were fit for leadership service or even combat both African-American men and women were mostly relegated to labor at a Service Unit and for the few who did make officer wreck they could only lead other black men and weren't allowed higher positions these beliefs not only stalled the use of African-American troops in combat but it also has excluded them from higher recognition for their service in World War II it wasn't until 1993 that the first African-American was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II while black troops were initially barred from Frontline combat as casualty started to mount among white soldiers during the final years of the war the military had no choice but to utilize African Americans as infantrymen officers and pilots in addition to remaining invaluable in Supply divisions from August 1944 to November 1944 the bread ball Express a unit comprised mostly of black drivers delivered gasoline ammunition food mechanical parts and medical supplies to the third Army in France they drove up to 400 miles on narrow roads in the middle of the night without headlights to avoid detection in November of 1944 the 761 tank Battalion became the first black division to see ground combat in Europe during the third Army in France the men helped liberate 30 towns under Nazi control and spent 183 days in combat the Tuskegee Airmen and all black Fighter Group escorted bombers over Italy and Sicily and flew almost 1600 combat missions where while destroying 237 German planes once again despite these heroics Jim Crow continued to be the law of the land for black servicemen black MP stationed in the South could not enter restaurants where German pows were allowed to eat private Bert baroto talked about the racism within the military in a letter to Truman Gibson the civilian aide for the Secretary of War he observed a sign over latrine actually segregating exception of latrine for negro Soldiers the other was to be used by German soldiers and white soldiers he recalled that the sign made him feel like the Tyrant was actually being placed over the Liberator Nazi leaders understood this American hypocrisy and sought to demotivate Black Soldiers by confronting them on this very subject Germans would drop leaflets mocking black troops asking why would you serve a military to treat you less than human beings in a leaseless would state things like you've done this before and look where it got you and why does this matter to you black communities also face an onslaught of racial attacks during World War II in June of 1943 riots in Beaumont Texas and Detroit led to the deaths and injuries and economic loss and only served to deepen racial hostility this is a pride from the African-American War experience only served to grow the membership roles of the NAACP that ranks group from 50 000 in 1940 to 450 000 in 1946 the civil rights organization faced an uphill battle as white Southerners doubled down their efforts to prevent economic political and social subjugation of African Americans these efforts arose partly out of fear returning African Americans would not continue their work as sharecroppers and many did leave the South altogether Mississippi Senator James o Eastland spoke about white soldiers from the south coming home expecting to find the Integrity of institutions of the South unimpaired and that those boys were fighting to maintain white supremacy racial discrimination wasn't just limited to military service it extended to veteran benefits as well in June 22 1944 the servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 commonly known as GI bill was passed it was designed to reward military servants the GI bill was often credited as creating the American middle class between 1944 and 1971 the federal government spent over 95 billion dollars providing benefits to veterans in 1948 the GI bill made up 15 of the federal budget it created opportunities for home ownership higher education vocational training and provided capital for veterans to start their own businesses before the end of the war black newspapers and printed articles about the legislation and outlined eligibility requirements the GI Bill gave black soldiers and the community hope that their service would give them unprecedented opportunities for economic advancement as you would expect the GI Bill led to a middle class that was overwhelmingly white black soldiers were denied access to programs within the GI bill because the GI bill was designed to accommodate Jim Crow while the bill contained no language limiting racial segregation or excluding African Americans it was also crafted with limited Federal oversight the bill gave all administrative responsibility to the states with limited Congressional supervision State authorities have virtually unchecked power to discriminate against black veterans in title III of the GI bill it made veterans eligible for low interest home loans with no down payment but very few black veterans were able to benefit from this these loans were guaranteed by the VA but because they required the cooperation of local banks black veterans had to convince local banks to lend them the money this proved to be a daunting task for black veterans because of the only women's majority of banks denied loans to Black applicants home ownership was the primary driver of post-war Economic Security and wealth accumulation it spurred a creation and growth of white Suburbia GI Bill completely failed to uplift black veterans and their families in the same way it had done white Americans and once again black people were excluded from the benefits of their military service and the hopes of black veterans was crushed by racism after World War II officially ended in September 2nd 1945 black soldiers returned home to Father not only were they denied benefits and economic opportunities but to their veteran status and military service made them Target to for racial violence especially those in uniform for many veterans the first confrontation with this post-war racial system was on the bus ride home in February 1946 Marine Timothy Hood removed the Jim Crow sign from a trolley in Bessemer Alabama in response the white streetcar conductor William R weeks shot Hood 5 times as Lewis staggered off he was actually arrested by the chief of police J.B Fant then placed Hood in the back of his police car and shot him in the head with a single bullet fat would later allege that hood had reached his Hip Pocket to draw a gun although there was no evidence that hood was armed the Corner's findings would rule this a justifiable homicide and faint was ultimately cleared by this time attacks on black veterans were slightly more likely to result in investigations and charges against white perpetrators but they still rarely led to convictions or any actual punishment because many states barred African Americans and women from serving on juries and because Jim Crow was so completely ingrained in every aspect of American society in December of 1946 Harry Truman appointed a panel to serve at the president's Commission on civil rights which recommended that more accurate means and procedures for protection of civil rights of people in the United States when the commission issued this report in October 1947 among its proposals were at anti-lynching Bill laws against polling taxes a permanent fepc and strengthening civil rights division of the justice department in February of 1948 Truman called Congress to act on these recommendations and Southern Senators threatened a filibuster Truman moved ahead on civil rights by using his executive powers on July 26 1948 he issued executive order abolishing segregation in the armed forces and ordering a full integration of all services executive order 9981 stated that there shall be a quality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in Armed Forces without regard to Color Race religion or national origin the order established an advisory committee to examine the rules of practices and procedures in the armed services and recommended ways to desegregate there was still considerable resistance from the military but by the end of the Korean conflict almost all of the Armed Forces were completely integrated with the world on the brick of war the United States started mobilizing for World War II military officials began to debate whether or not African-American soldiers should be used in armored units many in the military and politicians believed that blacks did not have the brains quickness or moral stamina to fight Colonel James a moss commander of the 357th Infantry Regiment spoke about his World War One experiences stating as fighting troops that negro must be raided as second class material and this is primarily due to its inferior intelligence and lack of mental and moral qualifications and Secretary of War Henry L Stinson was resigned to the fact that blacks would serve in the military but had very strong reservations about their capabilities in specific areas like the armored Force the military firmly embraced these beliefs leading up to World War II even though African Americans have fought with courage and distinction in every major war since the Revolutionary War and completely overlooked the fact that during World War One four black regiments had served with the French and their efforts were recognized by the French government and three of the four regiments were awarded the coveted kurdigia by the French military only the United States chief of ground forces Lieutenant General Leslie Nair was the voice of reason for African-Americans serving in armored units he believed that the nation could not afford to exclude any potential asset although men in the military didn't see a need for African Americans in armored units McNair was determined that black men would fight so with McNair's unwavering support the black press the NAACP and the Congress original equality all placing increasing pressure on the war department and Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration to allow black soldiers to serve and see combat so in the summer of 1940 the Congress passed selective training and Service Act the ACT stated that in the selection and training of men in this act there shall be no discrimination on any persons based on color or race but in October Lighthouse issued a statement stating that the service of negroes will be utilized on a fair Equitable basis and the policy of segregation in the armed forces would continue to mirror social norms back during World War One the first light tank Battalion was organized in France under Lieutenant Colonel George S Patton Jr in his command these battles gave the idea of how better tanks could accomplish greater things on the battlefield in the future he saw the tank corpse as an independent combat arm however the Army's High command and members of the United States Congress didn't share patent's views the National Defense Act 1920 would abolish the tank corpse as an independent arm tank units then it became under control of the Infantry it wouldn't be for 20 years that the armored force was created with the outbreak of World War II in Europe the American Army prepared for war with the creation of the armored force and headquartered it in Fort Knox July 10th of 1940 it was responsible for establishing armored formations Doctrine training and in the use of armored vehicles The Selective Service Act was then implemented in thousands of Citizen soldiers were ordered to Port the Fort Knox and introduced to tanks see the U.S lag behind Europe in both tank development and tactics with the Army believing that Germany had a superior tank force also many students arrived to Fort Knox with either no military training who had yet to attend basic training so this created tremendous urgency within the tank force who compensated for this urgency with a frenzied comprehensive training approach amid this training frenzy the first group of black tankers arrived in Fort Knox Kentucky in March of 1941 for armored Warfare training with the 758 tank Battalion the first of three battalions to serve with the 15 group the only predominantly black tank outfit established in the military during World War II the fifth tank group was commanded by Colonel Leroy Nichols and was made up of black enlisted personnel with white officers but these officers would gradually be replaced with black officers as they completed training these pioneering black tankers trained in light tank operations mechanics and in related phases of mechanic Warfare on the M5 light tank once the 758 tank Battalion was in place two more tank battalions were needed to complete the fifth tank group so in March 15th of 1942 the war department activated the 761 tank Battalion in Camp Claiborne Louisiana and then in September 15 1943 the 761 table Battalion was moved to Camp Hood Texas for Advanced Training and there they changed from light to medium tanks it would meet to April 1st of 1943 at the final Battalion the 784 would be activated many of the listed men and officers never left Fort Hood because of the racism that they experienced in the local towns on July 6 1944 one of the 761's few black offices Lieutenant Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was riding on a civilian bus from Camp Hood to the nearby town of Belton he refused to get to the back of the bus when asked by the driver although the Army had come Mission this to be an unsegregated bus line when the bus reached the end of the line the bus drivers summoned the military police who then took Robinson into custody and Court martial charges would ensue but it would not proceed because the Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Paul Bates would not consent to the charges the top brass at Fort Hood then transferred Robinson to the 758 tank Battalion whose Commander immediately signed the court-martial consent Robertson was charged with violating the 63rd and 64th articles of War were having disrespected General bear of the military police he was eventually acquitted and given an honorable discharge in November 1944. three years later he would go on to break baseball's color barrier although many within the 761 thought they would never see combat the men of the 761 still who trained hard to prove that they could fight through seemingly aimless Maneuvers through early of 1944 the high marks and hard work during training did not go unnoticed by Army's High command General Ben Lear commander of the year's second Army raided the unit as Superior after a special review and Dean the unit combat ready still it was seemingly unlikely in this late stage of the war that they would actually see combat but on June 6 the Allies implemented Operation Overlord the D-Day invasion of Europe with American forces already experiencing heavy casualties particularly among M4 Sherman tanks the set of 61 was now the best trained and most able-bodied armored force in the United States military so on October 10 1944 after two years of intense training the 761 landed in France via Omaha Beach and then moved to Belgium at the beginning of November the unit was assigned to General George Patton's third Army at his request and attached to the 22nd infantry battalion General Patton famously gang the Black Panthers a welcome stating men you the first negro tankers to ever fight with the American Army I would never have asked in you if you weren't good I've seen nothing but the best in my Army and I don't care what color you are as long as you go out there and you kill those crowd sons of [ __ ] everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from you and most of all your race is looking forward to your success don't let them down and damn it don't let me down privately however Patton harbored the same doubts as many of his white officers about black soldiers and was still sort of reluctant to commit to them in combat on November 8th 1944 the Black Panthers became the first African-American armored Unity under combat and they came under heavy fire in the towns of mon Vic and Victorville during the attack the men encountered a roadblock that held up their Advance without waiting for orders staff sergeant Reuben Rivers climbed out of his tank under heavy enemy fire attached the cable to the roadblock and removed it barely a week later Reuben Rivers was fatally wounded providing cover fire while it's been retreated from an enemy attack for his Valor he received two silver stars and in 1997 the Congressional Medal of Honor on November 10th Sergeant Warren G H Creasy fought through enemy positions with the aid of his men until his Sherman tank was destroyed Creasy jumped out took charge of the 30 caliber machine gun on a nearby American half track and use it to wipe out in any position that had just destroyed his tank the following day leading another tank attack when his tank was bogged down in the mud Creasy again dismounted under heavy enemy fire and worked to extricate it from the mud while he was doing so he saw that the 26th Infantry Division was pinned down with the Enemy beginning a counter-attack without hesitation Christy climbed up to a turret of a 50 caliber machine gun and used it to suppress the enemy while the foot soldiers would Retreat it seemed the more fire he drew the harder he fought after that battle he too received a silver medal for gallantry in action the Black Panthers would continue on and push but at this point they were in desperate need of personnel Replacements and low unfunctioning tanks all of these things at this point in the war were hard to come by so as a result the 761 was not committed to fight in the first days of the Battle of the Bulge but in January of 1945 it was sent into action again and from December 31st 1944 to February 2nd of 1945 the 761 took part in the American counter offensive following the Battle of the Bulge during a major battle in Tittle Belgium the 761 fought for two continuous days against German Panzer and infantry units before the Germans withdrew in the face of a heavy black panther attack later after armored force of the 103 Infantry Division the 761 took part in assaults that resulted in the breach of the Siegfried line the six feet line was the German defense system that stretched almost 400 miles on the western part of Germany for March 20th to March 23rd of 1945 they operated far in advance of friendly artillery and face vicious German resistance elements of the 761 destroyed several defensive positions along the Siegfried line captured seven German towns and during that three-day period the Battalion inflicted 4 000 casualties on the German Army and fought elements 14 different German divisions April 26 1945 the Black Panthers will be one of the first U.S battalions to meet up with Soviet forces converging with the Russian army and steer Austria the convergence of Russian and U.S armies split the last of the German Army and two and hastened the end of the war in Europe May 8th 1945 officially ended the war in Europe the 761 will remain in Germany for another year before being deactivated June 1st 1946 during combat operations in World War II the Black Panthers served for 183 consecutive days without relief most Frontline troops rarely spent more than a few weeks among the front lines the 761 was known as the bastard Battalion because elements of the Battalion served with several different infantry divisions in support roles the Black Panthers fought in major engagements in six different European countries and participated in four major Allied campaigns they aligned at various times to the third Sixth and 9th Army and the unit inflicted a hundred and thirty thousand casualties on the German Army and captured destroyed or aided in the liberation of more than 30 towns several concentration camps four airfields and three Supply dumps all of this was accomplished despite the loss of 71 tanks and overall casualty rate approaching 50 percent the 761 was highly decorated earning throughout the six months of their combat operation seven civil stars for Valor 246 purple hearts and one Congressional Medal of Honor in 1976 the 761 tank Battalion received the presidential unit factation in 2005 a monument dedicated to 761 table Battalion was unveiled at Fort Hood Texas it serves as a permanent tribute to the black soldiers who fought and served for Liberty honor and democracy prior to World War II breakthrough segregation was the rule for most of the country and many in the military believed that black soldiers were simply inferior to whites and performed relatively poorly in combat and were completely incapable of flying airplanes a 1925 study conducted by the army war College concluded that African Americans were inherently ill-suited for combat physically and psychologically so the United States continued their policy of segregating blacks and whites as well as limiting their roles within the military in 1938 with Europe Teeter on the brink of another Great War Congress passed Public Law 18 Which authorized the training of military Pilots for the air corpse at civilian colleges and universities it was referred to as civilian pilot training program see the United States Air Force wasn't created until 1947 and prior to that flying in a military meant that you are part of the army branch which is called the United States Air corpse during the beginning of this program the military simply refused to offer the training program at black colleges so a Howard University student launched a lawsuit in protest and thanks to the mounting pressure from black newspapers to NAACP and even Eleanor Roosevelt in September of 1940 the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration responded to this lobbying campaign by announcing that the AAC planned to establish an experimental training program for black pilots and this led to the creation oh the 99th Pursuit Squadron for the training site the war department chose Tuskegee Army Airfield in Tuskegee Alabama which was then under construction many in the black community were stunned by the choice of Tuskegee Alabama giving the South's reputation of racial intolerance others felt like it was a fitting tribute to book two Washington who had built Tuskegee Institute from scratch in 1881 and served as an advisor for Theodore Roosevelt the 99th would consist of 35 pilots and 300 Crown Personnel managed by white officers since it was an insult for white officers to be assigned to black troops the war department decided to use voluntary white non-commissioned officers to supervise but they will be replaced by black officers as soon as the officers were qualified in addition to a thousand Pilots the Tuskegee program trained over 14 000 Navigators bombardiers instructors aircraft and machine mechanics control tower operators and other maintenance and support staff those that possess the physical and mental qualifications to be accepted in aviation Cadet program would initially be trained as single engine pilots and would later then be trained on twin Asian planes Navigators and bombardiers the cadets received 15 weeks of primary training after the completion the cadets will then move on to combat pilot training most of these Cadets were either college graduates or undergrads that demonstrated academic qualifications for comprehensive interest exams no military standards for lowered 40s Pilots or any of the support personnel the first Aviation Cadet class began in July 1941 and despite the official report stating that there will be 35 black pilot trainees only 13 started the class the cadets lived in Dreadful conditions at Tuskegee Airfield while it was being completed they stayed in tents ate in a mess hall that was pretty much four walls with a dirt floor and with what little free time they had they couldn't go to downtown Tuskegee because of the hostility of the white townspeople and because it was strictly segregated after nine months in March of 1942 only five successfully completed the training program one of them being Captain Benjamin O Davis Jr a West Point graduate the other four were commissioned second lieutenant and all five received the Army Air corpse silver Pilot wings with America now at War there was greater urgency to train Personnel for combat the 99 Fighter Squadron would have to wait for their opportunity to perform in combat and many asked if they intended to be used at all but in April 1st 19 1943 the 99th got word they'd been called up and the following morning the men boarded a train for New York they then left for North Africa and later Sicily 400 members of the 99th and 3 500 white servicemen all fell under the command of now Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin O Davis he was the first a black officer to ever command white troops early on the 99 flew sometimes as many as three to four missions a day The Average White pilot only flew 50 missions before being rotated out the 99 flew as many as 70 plus missions before being relieved the men of the 99 knew that they could not break under the intense pressure because they were under a magnifying glass after the commander of the 99th assigned Fighter Squadron group Harold R Maddox complained about the 99th performance Benjamin Davis had to defend his bin before a war department committee this led to the 99th being moved to Italy where they served alongside the 79th group early in 1944 this was a turning point for the 99th where they shot down 12 German planes in just two days later in April of 1944 a study that covered the actions of the 99th during 1943 and early 1944 was completed and the study read an examination of the record of the 99 Fighter Squadron reveals the no significant differences between this Squadron and the balance of the P-40 squadrons in the Mediterranean theater of operations the report recognized that the 99th as a superior tactical fighter Union and this report in the heroic efforts completely changed the military's view of the 99th and black Airmen around the same time early in 1944 the 100th the 301 and the 302 fighter squadrons arrived in Italy these black squadrons made up the newly formed all-black 332nd fighter group led by promoted again Colonel Benjamin O Davis Jr as soon as the 99th was transferred to the 332 second Fighter Group then the 332nd was then reassigned to the 15th with Strategic Air Force and ramatelli Italy the group then received new planes p-37 Thunder Jets to escort heavy bombers doing raids of energy territory a 332nd painted the Tails of their planes with Red Tails because they wanted bomber Pilots to know who was escorting them when they looked out the window earning them the enduring nickname Red Tails over the course of the war the 332nd flew 15 000 combat sword is over 1500 missions and sent 450 Pilots into battle the Tuskegee Airmen shot down 112 German aircraft destroyed 950 ground units and senka Destroyer using only machine gun fire alone while none of the Tuskegee Airmen achieved a status three Airmen Captain Edward toppings Captain Joseph eisenberry and first lieutenant Lee Archer shot down four planes during their service in Europe however the most distinctive and controversial achievement of the Tuskegee Airmen was that no friendly bomber was lost to enemy aircraft during 2000 Esco emissions was most likely not true in March 1945 Chicago Defenders stated that no bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen which lost the enemy fire this statement was simply repeated and not challenged for years later a detailed analysis was fine that the 332nd lost at least 25 bombers over the course of the war however the report does credit the Airmen with not losing a bomber to an escort Mission over a six-month period between September of 1944 and March 1945. despite this the Airmen had a much better success Freight than any other bomber escort group in the 15th Air Force who lost on average 46 bombers during the exact same period even with all their successes the Tuskegee officers found that may return from Europe it was still second-class citizens at home their contributions to American freedoms had not endured them to their wife white military Brothers in March of 1945 the lives of the Tuskegee Group the 477th medium bombardment group moved to Goblin field adjacent to Fort Knox to Friedman field because of better facilities tensions between the 477 and the white command structure on the base were tense from the moment they arrived the commanding officer of the base Colonel Robert Segway moved quickly to set up and enforce a segregated system the 477 was housed in dilapidated buildings and Colonel Segway also created a system to deny black Airmen entry into the offensive Club he classified black Airmen as trainees even though they had all finished flight school therefore they were commissioned officers as trainees they were forced to use a rundown non-commissioned Officers Club nicknamed Uncle Tom's Cabin this occurred despite an order issued in 1940 by President Roosevelt himself that no officer should be denied interest into the offices Club April 5th 1945 a group of black officers p peacefully entered the Freeman field Officers Club in protest of direct orders to put them to stay out 103 officers were arrested and charged with insubordination and face Court martial the court-martial proceedings were quickly dropped against all but one of the officers a lieutenant Roger Bill Terry who was convicted for brushing up against a superior officer while trying to enter the club 50 years later in August of 1995 15 of the original 103 officers who were arrested received official notification that their military records have been expunged of any reference to the Freeman field incident and also Mr Terry's court-martial conviction had been reversed and his military record clean even after the war in Europe the Tuskegee Airmen returned home to the United States and faced continued racism bigotry despite their outstanding world record Tuskegee Army Airfield continued to train new Airmen until 1946 with women entering the program in several support Fields a large number of black Airmen elected to remain in the service but because of segregation their assignments were limited to The 332nd Fighter Group or the 477 composite group opportunities for advancement and promotion were severely limited nonetheless black Airmen continued to perform superbly and from 1941 1946 996 Pilots graduated from Tuskegee Army Airfield receiving commissions and pilot swings in 1947 the newly formed U.S Air Force initiated plans to integrate all its units the Army was also on demand and needed qualified people but were unable to get experienced black Personnel because of their segregation policy in 1948 Harry Truman enacted executive order 9981 which directed equal treatment and opportunity for all in the United States armed forces this order in time led to the end of racial segregation in the armed forces this also was the first step towards racial integration in the United States the Tuskegee Airmen performed outstandingly during World War II and each Airman accepted the challenge and proud to display their skill and determination while suppressing their Eternal rage from the humiliation and indignation of frequent experiences with racism and bigotry these Airmen fought two Wars internally and externally and steal the positive experience for the United States military the outstanding record of accomplishment the superb behavior of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and after were major factors in the initiation of historic social change that worked to achieve Racial equality in the United States African-Americans served in the Civil War World War one and World War II for the ideals of freedom justice and democracy only to return to racial Terror and violence white Americans intent on maintaining white supremacy and the racial hierarchy targeted black veterans with violence and lynching because they represented hope and the possibility of black empowerment and social equality they hope threatened to disrupt the entrenched social economic and political forces and to inspire large segments of the black community to participate in activism that could deal a serious blow to the system of segregation and oppression that had been aligned for nearly a century and was rooted in the myth of the differences between the two races that is older than the nation itself despite its overwhelming Injustice the horrific acts on black veterans suffer during the era of racial Terror they maintained the determine to fight at home for what they hope to achieve abroad this commitment contributed to the spirit that would launch Civil Rights Movement thank you I'm your host country boy and if you like this you love this you can find more like this at Walmart history.com please give us five stars Apple podcast and support the YouTube channel peace

Channel: One Mic History

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Length: 39min 46sec (2386 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 03 2023