African American Military Heroes

Detailed profiles bring stories of African American heroism in the U.S. armed forces to life, from the American Revolution through the conflict in Afghanistan. African American war heroes remain largely unsung, their courage and valor relegated to the less traveled corners of history. This work seeks out those heroes—soldiers, sailors, flyers, and marines—who earned their nation's highest medals in defense of freedom and equality. Some of these men and women died on the battlefield. Others returned to civilian life in a segregated country. What they share across time and circumstance is devotion to duty and to the country they defended, even in the face of personal and racial prejudice. Entries profile decorated African Americans from all of the U.S. conflicts since the Revolutionary War. In addition to providing basic biographical data, each profile offers a detailed account of the individual's heroic actions. The book also offers sidebars on events and topics relevant to African Americans in the U.S. armed forces, such as histories of the 54th Massachusetts and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Throughout American history, succeeding in the military has demanded unflagging courage, strength of character, and a patriotic spirit. For an African American man or woman, serving in the military has also meant battling oppression and struggling against deep-seated prejudice. Those who persevered were not only warriors, nurses, or leaders—they were heroes and heroines. In this action-packed collection, you will meet thirty brave and determined African American military heroes, from the eighteenth century up to the present. You'll discover little-known facts about their families and careers, as well as the remarkable odds each of them overcame. Ranging from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, these exciting stories show you how: Private Peter Salem, born into slavery, led the charge against the British redcoats at the Battle of Bunker Hill and turned the tide in America's fight for independence. Harriet Tubman, famous for her daring in the Underground Railroad, worked as a spy and nurse for the Union army during the Civil War. Private Henry Johnson, a member of the first black combat battalion in World War I, single-handedly withstood a German ambush and received the Croix de Guerre, France's highest honor for bravery in action. Brigadier General Hazel W. Johnson, chief of the Army Nursing Corps, blazed a trail in the struggle for racial integration in the armed forces during World War II, becoming the military's highest-ranking African American woman. General Colin L. Powell, recipient of the Purple Heart in Vietnam, steadily rose through army ranks to become the first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, overseeing the U.S. invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm. This extraordinary collection highlights these and dozens of other absorbing stories of dedicated defenders of America. BLACK STARS Meet the courageous black stars who defended our liberty with uncommon valor—from the early years to modern times: Vernon J. Baker Guion S. Bluford Jr. Sherian Cadoria William H. Carney Austin Dabney Benjamin O. Davis Sr. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Martin Robison Delany Charity Adams Earley Christian A. Fleetwood Henry O. Flipper Robert O. Goodman Jr. William Goyens Samuel L. Gravely Jr. Lemuel Haynes Michael A. Healy Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. Hazel W. Johnson Henry Johnson Dorie Miller Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback Colin L. Powell Peter Salem Deborah Sampson Robert Smalls Harriet Tubman John Bathan Vashon Peter Vogelsang George Washington Williams Charles A. Young

Throughout American history, succeeding in the military has demanded unflagging courage, strength of character, and a patriotic spirit. For an African American man or woman, serving in the military has also meant battling oppression and struggling against deep-seated prejudice. Those who persevered were not only warriors, nurses, or leaders—they were heroes and heroines. In this action-packed collection, you will meet thirty brave and determined African American military heroes, from the eighteenth century up to the present. You'll discover little-known facts about their families and careers, as well as the remarkable odds each of them overcame. Ranging from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, these exciting stories show you how: Private Peter Salem, born into slavery, led the charge against the British redcoats at the Battle of Bunker Hill and turned the tide in America's fight for independence. Harriet Tubman, famous for her daring in the Underground Railroad, worked as a spy and nurse for the Union army during the Civil War. Private Henry Johnson, a member of the first black combat battalion in World War I, single-handedly withstood a German ambush and received the Croix de Guerre, France's highest honor for bravery in action. Brigadier General Hazel W. Johnson, chief of the Army Nursing Corps, blazed a trail in the struggle for racial integration in the armed forces during World War II, becoming the military's highest-ranking African American woman. General Colin L. Powell, recipient of the Purple Heart in Vietnam, steadily rose through army ranks to become the first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, overseeing the U.S. invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm. This extraordinary collection highlights these and dozens of other absorbing stories of dedicated defenders of America. BLACK STARS Meet the courageous black stars who defended our liberty with uncommon valor—from the early years to modern times: Vernon J. Baker Guion S. Bluford Jr. Sherian Cadoria William H. Carney Austin Dabney Benjamin O. Davis Sr. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Martin Robison Delany Charity Adams Earley Christian A. Fleetwood Henry O. Flipper Robert O. Goodman Jr. William Goyens Samuel L. Gravely Jr. Lemuel Haynes Michael A. Healy Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. Hazel W. Johnson Henry Johnson Dorie Miller Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback Colin L. Powell Peter Salem Deborah Sampson Robert Smalls Harriet Tubman John Bathan Vashon Peter Vogelsang George Washington Williams Charles A. Young

"An utterly compelling account of the African Americans who played a crucial and dangerous role in the invasion of Europe. The story of their heroic duty is long overdue.” —Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation The injustices of 1940s Jim Crow America are brought to life in this extraordinary blend of military and social history—a story that pays tribute to the valor of an all-Black battalion whose crucial contributions at D-Day have gone unrecognized to this day. In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit of African-American soldiers, landed on the beaches of France. Their orders were to man a curtain of armed balloons meant to deter enemy aircraft. One member of the 320th would be nominated for the Medal of Honor, an award he would never receive. The nation’s highest decoration was not given to Black soldiers in World War II. Drawing on newly uncovered military records and dozens of original interviews with surviving members of the 320th and their families, Linda Hervieux tells the story of these heroic men charged with an extraordinary mission, whose contributions to one of the most celebrated events in modern history have been overlooked. Members of the 320th—Wilson Monk, a jack-of-all-trades from Atlantic City; Henry Parham, the son of sharecroppers from rural Virginia; William Dabney, an eager 17-year-old from Roanoke, Virginia; Samuel Mattison, a charming romantic from Columbus, Ohio—and thousands of other African Americans were sent abroad to fight for liberties denied them at home. In England and Europe, these soldiers discovered freedom they had not known in a homeland that treated them as second-class citizens—experiences they carried back to America, fueling the budding civil rights movement. In telling the story of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, Hervieux offers a vivid account of the tension between racial politics and national service in wartime America, and a moving narrative of human bravery and perseverance in the face of injustice.

Detailed profiles bring stories of African American heroism in the U.S. armed forces to life, from the American Revolution through the conflict in Afghanistan. African American war heroes remain largely unsung, their courage and valor relegated to the less traveled corners of history. This work seeks out those heroes—soldiers, sailors, flyers, and marines—who earned their nation's highest medals in defense of freedom and equality. Some of these men and women died on the battlefield. Others returned to civilian life in a segregated country. What they share across time and circumstance is devotion to duty and to the country they defended, even in the face of personal and racial prejudice. Entries profile decorated African Americans from all of the U.S. conflicts since the Revolutionary War. In addition to providing basic biographical data, each profile offers a detailed account of the individual's heroic actions. The book also offers sidebars on events and topics relevant to African Americans in the U.S. armed forces, such as histories of the 54th Massachusetts and the Tuskegee Airmen.

For many soldiers, the end of military service signals a cruel and new beginning. Disposable Heroes illuminates the challenges facing many veterans, particularly African Americans. Rather than finding military service to be a path to equality and upward mobility, these veterans fight just to survive. The book draws on in-depth interviews and national survey data to show the ways America is failing many black veterans today. Author Benjamin Fleury-Steiner shares the remarkable stories of 30 veterans from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. Their words illustrate the ongoing impact of explicit racial oppression such as Jim Crow segregation, white backlash against integration, and racially targeted criminal justice policies. The book traces the persistent role of racial inequalities in African American veterans’ lives before service, during active duty, and particularly after military life. Taken together, the stories in Disposable Heroes paint a compelling story of hope, struggle, and survival. Disposable Heroes makes a powerful case for ending America’s longstanding “war at home”—enduring unemployment, deficient health care, and substandard housing—that continue to plague many urban African American communities in the United States today, with particular attention to challenges of African American veterans.

We Were There is a book that documents the bravery and dedication of African Americans in the military. This book contains stories of African American participation in every war from the Revolutionary War to the current, ongoing War on Terror. Most of the people featured in We Were There are unknown to the general public, but their stories must be told. The American history in this book is different from what the majority of Americans learn in school. We Were There is a book of untold American history that has helped to shape the American culture, in a way that has gone unrecognized and unacknowledged for too long.

The African-American contribution to winning World War II has never been celebrated as profoundly as in Fighting for America. In this inspirational and uniquely personal tribute, the essential part played by black servicemen and -women in that cataclysmic conflict is brought home. Here are letters, photographs, oral histories, and rare documents, collected by historian Christopher Moore, the son of two black WWII veterans. Weaving his family history with that of his people and nation, Moore has created an unforgettable tapestry of sacrifice, fortitude, and courage. From the 1,800 black soldiers who landed at Normandy Beach on D-Day, and the legendary Tuskegee Airmen who won ninety-five Distinguished Flying Crosses, to the 761st Tank Battalion who, under General Patton, helped liberate Nazi death camps, the invaluable effort of black Americans to defend democracy is captured in word and image. Readers will be introduced to many unheralded heroes who helped America win the war, including Dorie Miller, the messman who manned a machine gun and downed four Japanese planes; Robert Brooks, the first American to die in armored battle; Lt. Jackie Robinson, the future baseball legend who faced court-martial for refusing to sit in the back of a military bus; an until now forgotten African-American philosopher who helped save many lives at a Japanese POW camp; even the author’s own parents: his mother, Kay, a WAC when she met his father, Bill, who was part of the celebrated Red Ball Express. Yet Fighting for America is more than a testimonial; it is also a troubling story of profound contradictions, of a country still in the throes of segregation, of a domestic battleground where arrests and riots occurred simultaneously with foreign service–and of how the war helped spotlight this disparity and galvanize the need for civil rights. Featuring a unique perspective on black soldiers, Fighting for America will move any reader: all who, like the author, owe their lives to those who served.