Until the 21st century, the contributions of African-American soldiers in World War II barely registered in America’s collective memory of that war.
The “tan soldiers,” as the black press affectionately called them, were also for the most part left out of the triumphant narrative of America’s “Greatest Generation.” In order to tell their story of helping defeat Nazi Germany in my 2010 book, “Breath of Freedom,” I had to conduct research in more than 40 different archives in the U.S. and Germany.
African-American GIs of WWII: Fighting for democracy abroad and at home
At a time when we are celebrating the 75th Anniversary of D Day, we can not forgot that many of America's black soldiers who served in that event and WWII as a whole are being left out of those celebrations.
Think of how they must have felt when they were fighting for someone else's liberation and freedom while they were being denied those precious gifts at home.
The “tan soldiers,” as the black press affectionately called them, were also for the most part left out of the triumphant narrative of America’s “Greatest Generation.” In order to tell their story of helping defeat Nazi Germany in my 2010 book, “Breath of Freedom,” I had to conduct research in more than 40 different archives in the U.S. and Germany.
African-American GIs of WWII: Fighting for democracy abroad and at home
At a time when we are celebrating the 75th Anniversary of D Day, we can not forgot that many of America's black soldiers who served in that event and WWII as a whole are being left out of those celebrations.
Think of how they must have felt when they were fighting for someone else's liberation and freedom while they were being denied those precious gifts at home.