The U. S. 93rd Infantry Division (Colored), during WW1, included the 369th, 370th, 371st, and 372nd Regiments, I believe. Their patch design was influenced by the blue French 'Adrian' helmets that they wore.
The U. S. 93rd Infantry Division (Colored), during WW1, included the 369th, 370th, 371st, and 372nd Regiments, I believe. Their patch design was influenced by the blue French 'Adrian' helmets that they wore.
Last edited by butlersrangers; 05-23-2015 at 01:20. Reason: picture was changed
In my opinion, one of the worst acts of discrimination was the conversion of the (Black) 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments to stevedore units in WWII.
In another case on of the few Black officers, Lt. Col. Charles Young, was "retired" for medical reasons shortly before WWI. It was unjustified, because Young rode a horse a very extended distance to show how fit he was.
While I am no fan of the current "civil rights" leaders and philosophy going around today, treatment of Black soldiers is a blot on the honor of our military services that will never go away.
"We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."
--C.S. Lewis
Well said, Rick.
I recall reading about 'a line' being painted on the decks of a SAW transport ship. White and Black soldiers, who were on friendly terms at their post in Montana, could not visit aboard the transport. Not all men were blind to injustice. It bothered them and they wrote about it.
Another blot on our history is the Japanese-American resettlement camps. I have come to know a few of the internees, and they at least are wonderful people - some bitter, some not so much, but all scarred.
I totally abhor today's utterly ridiculous, tail wagging the dog, level of PC-ness, but there were some wrongs that needed to be called out and condemned. The proper course, as in nearly all of life, lies somewhere in the middle. Hopefully the pendulum will come to rest some day.
Precisely my point, Dick ... I am NOT holding up today's skewed PC B.S., either.
Our next-door neighbors were J/A and they spent the war in an internment camp while the wife's brothers, three of them, were in the Army. They were (and still are) "family" - they took care of my mother over the years and in her last illness and I was given the honor of giving the husband's eulogy at his funeral.
"We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."
--C.S. Lewis
"It was unjustified." Those aren't hindsight glasses you're wearing, they're nonsense glasses. How would you know if it was justified for not? From that snippet I gather they probably waited longer than they should have.
"was "retired" for medical reasons"
What specifically was the reason? We don't even need to know. What that indicates is they went through the process of retiring him. What did he do? File an appeal? Get a second medical opinion? No, that's not what you're claiming he did:
"because Young rode a horse a very extended distance to show how fit he was."
He rode a horse. "Look fellas, I'm ok, I'm just fine, I can ride a horse!"
Sounds like they waited too long.
The French, among many others including the relatively few enlightened Americans, were shocked at the US for its bigotry and prejudice. Read up on the heroics of Eugene Bullard to see how far it extended. The US has had a lot of things it could have done better and sooner but even after WW2, Mr Bullard was mistreated by the US military. De Gaulle invited him to the Arch de Triomphe in the 1950s and still President Eisenhower on down could not and did not see fit to do the right thing.
http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/201...ro-during-wwi/
http://www.amazon.com/Eugene-Bullard.../dp/158838280X
El Caney was recently studied by US archaeologists.
http://www.buffalosoldiers-washingto...t%20Report.jpg
http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local...41ba3ca73.html
Last edited by Shooter5; 10-11-2014 at 12:51.
At first blush this one would slide through unnoticed. It looks well assembled. Upon a bit of poking though cracks in this appear. Then the entire veneer comes apart.
The wife worked with a lady and I had the opportunity to correspond with her father. About his service in WW2. Very early in the war he was drafted. He'd attended the University and was working as a school teacher when drafted. After a bit of time in the service he attended OCS and was commissioned. Thence to France where he commanded a QM truck company.
What an affront. That's an affront that will forever besmirch the honor of the US Military. See, I can play "false affrontry" as a hobby too. How'd I do?
Just playing to the theme.treatment of Black soldiers is a blot on the honor of our military services that will never go away.
The picture of those forlorn cavalry troopers toiling away loading and ships daily, perhaps sweating profusely and having visions of the days when they rode their horses in parades, is evocative. It's also nonsense. The great bulk of the blacks drafted served in various QM units. Whether that's fair or unfair is immaterial to the fact that large numbers of blacks were going to be entering the US military machine. Who'd lead them?
I suspect you have your answer. So painted one way we get a vision of them loading boxes all day. Painted another we get the vision of the military needing Sergeants and that ilk for those units. Which do you believe is the more likely reality?
Having them in those roles meant they didn't get the wonderful chance to play shoot 'em up with the Germans. If that's true for them it's true for the dude I mentioned. Oh the humanity of it all.
As I was typing this I got to wondering: "how did this thread turn into what it did? The great feel sorry for the ill-understood alleged wrongs of history."
I then walked back through the posts. #7 started it. Who posted that?
Aw, I see it now.
Last edited by 5MadFarmers; 10-11-2014 at 02:41.