Two black units during World War II

Study in leadership: the 761st Tank Battalion and the 92d Division in World War II.

This thesis evaluates leadership in the 761st Tank Battalion and the 92d Division, two black units during World War II. Leaders in each unit were evaluated on their ability to use the following leadership model: technical skills (job experience, technical competence, and the ability to correlate facts into meaningful information); conceptual skills (vision and the ability to task organize to accomplish the mission); and interpersonal skills (job related standards and the ability to foster mutual trust and respect) to influence combat effectiveness. The analysis showed that the leaders in the 761st Tank Battalion demonstrated skills in the leadership model effectively and especially were successful in demonstrating interpersonal skills. Its successful combat record supports that its leaders were effective. On the other hand, the leaders in the 92d Division failed to properly demonstrate the skills of the leadership model. The lack of interpersonal skills used by leaders in the division (developing trust and mutual respect) was the major cause of the unit's combat failures. This study showed that despite negative beliefs about Negro soldiers there were some leaders who effectively applied interpersonal leadership skills in the interest of mission accomplishment.

http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/p4013coll2&CISOPTR=976&filename=977.pdf

4.16 Mb pdf

 

What about the Tuskagee airmen?

 

Agreed! The 555th PIC should also not be forgotten.

Steve W.

 

555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (United States)

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555th Parachute Infantry Battalion
Shoulder sleeve patch of the Triple Nickle AssosciationActiveDecember 19, 1943 - August 22, 1950CountryUnited States of AmericaBranchNational ArmyTypeAirborne Infantry {later incorporated into the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division post World War II}RoleAirborne FirefightersSizeBattalionGarrison/HQPendleton Army Airfield, OregonNicknameThe Triple Nickles/Smoke JumpersEngagementsWorld War II {Mainland USA}CommandersNotable
commandersJames M. Gavin {Post World War II}The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was an all-black airborne unit of the United States Army during World War II.
Contents


[edit] Activation

It was activated as a result of a recommendation made in December 1942 by the Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies, chaired by the Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy. In approving the committee's recommendation for a black parachute battalion, Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall decided to start with a company, and on February 25, 1943 the 555th Parachute Infantry Company was constituted.
On December 19, 1943, Headquarters, Army Ground Forces, authorized the activation of the company as an all-black unit with black officers as well as black enlisted men. All unit members were to be volunteers, with an enlisted cadre to be selected from personnel of the 92d Infantry Division at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
The company was officially activated on December 30, 1943 at Fort Benning, Georgia. After several months of training, the unit moved to Camp Mackall, North Carolina, where it was reorganized and redesignated on November 25, 1944 as Company A of the newly-activated 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion.

[edit] World War II

The battalion did not serve overseas during World War II. However, in May 1945 it was sent to the west coast of the United States to combat forest fires ignited by Japanese balloons carrying incendiary bombs. Although this potentially serious threat did not materialize, the 555th fought numerous other forest fires. Stationed at Pendleton Field, Oregon, with a detachment in Chico, California, unit members courageously participated in dangerous fire-fighting missions throughout the Pacific Northwest during the summer and fall of 1945, earning the nickname "Smoke Jumpers" in addition to "Triple Nickles." The only fatality in the unit died while jumping on August 6, 1945.

Soon after returning to Camp Mackall in October 1945, the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, its home for the next two years. During this period the unit was attached to the elite 82d Airborne Division. When the battalion was inactivated on December 15, 1947, most of its personnel were reassigned to the division's organic 3d Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

[edit] Disbandment

On August 22, 1950 the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was disbanded. Many of its former members later fought in the Korean War, in other units. Harry Sutton, one of the battalion's former officers, died leading a rearguard action during the Hungnam Evacuation and was decorated posthumously with the Silver Star.

 

From a thread I posted last month,

Buffalo Soldiers Cite Dual
Battle: The Enemy And Racism

By PENELOPE OVERTON | Courant Staff Writer July 17, 2008
This is a photo taken of an elite company of African American soldiers who earned high scores in the Army's entrance exam and were selected to receive advanced technical training in fields such as medicine and engineering. Many of them went on to serve in the Army's 92nd Infantry Division and saw action in Italy during World War II. The 92nd Infantry was dubbed The Buffalo Soldiers, named after the famed African American members of the U.S. Cavalry that saw action during the Indian Wars. Four members of this company reunited in Old Saybrook Wednesday.

OLD SAYBROOK - Four of the remaining Buffalo Soldiers, a group of African Americans who served in the Army's 92nd Infantry Division during World War II, gathered at Saybrook Point Inn Wednesday to reminisce.

They talked about fighting the Germans and Italians in Europe, but it was the racism that dogged them within their own military that had wounded these soldiers the most — ordered to ride in rail baggage cars, banned from all-white bunkhouses and sent on suicidal missions.

"But it didn't diminish our desire to perform," said Frank Seaforth of Windham. "It was like we had two battles. We not only had to fight the enemy, but we also had to fight the crackers and rednecks who were in charge of us."

They were members of an elite platoon of 43 African Americans who scored high on the Army entrance exam and were selected to receive advanced training in technical fields such as medicine and engineering at the now defunct Camp Wheeler in Georgia.



Many of these men went on to serve in the Army's 92nd Infantry Division, which was dubbed the Buffalo Soldiers. That is the name that American Indians gave the black members of the U.S. Cavalry who fought Indians in the American West.

Members of the Buffalo Soldiers have been gathering for informal reunions every four or five years since they returned stateside at the end of World War II, Seaforth said. The gatherings used to attract a hundred people, but many have died and some are too ill to travel, so it's down to these four.

Their successes illustrate how well most Buffalo Soldiers fared after the war.

Charles Wells of Michigan became assistant superintendent of schools in Detroit. Lawrence Pierce of New York is a retired federal judge. James Curtis of Michigan went on to serve in Korea, and is a retired professor of psychiatry.

And Seaforth, who was known as a soldier's soldier, the one who was always the first to run over any hill or round any corner no matter how dangerous, opened a pharmacy in Willimantic in 1952. Seaforth became a legend at Anchor Pharmacy before he sold it in 1995.

Salesmen used to tell Seaforth he should move to Hartford and serve his own community in an urban setting, but Seaforth waved them off. He said he didn't go to school to learn how to fill a "black prescription," and that "white people needed a good pharmacist, too."

The four buddies don't know when they will get together next. Their wives used to plan their reunions, but they are dead now, and it's up to these old wise-cracking soldiers to plan their next gathering. For now, Wells said, their goal is to remain available for another one.

"Who else will tell the story?" Wells said, smiling. "Believe me, we've got some good ones."

Buffalo Soldiers Cite Dual Battle: The Enemy And Racism -- Courant.com

And,


They fought fascism abroad, prejudice at home African-American WWII vets reunite in Old Saybrook
By Matthew Clark Published on 7/17/2008


Old Saybrook - After fighting in World War II, the men of the 92nd Infantry Division went on to become doctors and judges, engineers and educators.
But beyond enduring the perils of battle, these men, all African-American, also had to fight racial prejudice and segregation both in the Army and as civilians.
Four of the surviving members reunited at the Saybrook Point Inn Wednesday to reminisce and enjoy each other's company, as they have done dozens of times since they were discharged more than 60 years ago.
For Frank Seaforth Sr., Charles Wells, Lawrence Pierce, and Dr. James Curtis, their friendship has served as “a mutual admiration society” that helped them through the struggles of segregation and battle.
”I would not have traded my experience with these guys for anything,” Seaforth said.
Seaforth, of Windham, is the group's unelected leader - he often organizes their reunions and is often the bearer of bad news. When one of their group dies, it is Seaforth who usually delivers the news to his comrades.
They kidded Wells about being the only one of the four who doesn't use e-mail.
”I'm retired. I don't need to be contacted in an emergency,” he deadpanned. “Unless it's my emergency.”
The four men, all in their 80s, interacted with the ease and comfort of people who have endured tremendous struggle and lived to joke about it.
Their conversation is marked by gentle ribbing, inside jokes and finishing one another's sentences.
”I forgot to tell you about the contest,” Seaforth said, holding up a dog-eared glossy photograph.
The picture showed a group of about 60 young, black soldiers in the Army Specialized Training Program.
He delivered the punch line, guffawing: “Anyone who can find me wins a million dollars.”
Wednesday afternoon the men recalled their sometimes bittersweet personal histories, the paths that led them to military service and their remarkable friendships forged in the process.
”The idea of loving my country comes with mixed feelings,” said Wells, of Albion, Mich.
After being discharged from the Army, Wells served as the assistant superintendent of the Detroit school system for 21 years.
”I welcomed my experience, but I wouldn't want to go through it again,” he said.
Wells, Pierce, Curtis and Seaforth all shared similar stories of experiencing racial prejudice both in war and at home.
”It's like we had two battles: Not only did we have to fight the enemy - we also had to fight the crackers and rednecks in charge of us,” Seaforth said.
Curtis recalled being forced to ride in the baggage car of the train that carried him and a fellow soldier from Atlanta to Macon, Ga., for basic training. Because of their assignment, they should have been in first class. Pierce, who served as the deputy commissioner of the New York City Police Department and as a federal judge for more than 20 years, said the key is not to dwell on the negative. ”You plow along and you deal with what you encounter,” he said. “You don't spend a lot of time looking back.”

TheDay.com - They fought fascism abroad, prejudice at home

 

Every year I go to Ft Huachuca for an Army Intellegence Trade Show. It's a bout 7 miles from Tombstone and about 5 miles from the Mexican line. Checkpoints all up and down those back roads and ya see a lot of US Customs Agents.

It is also home of the original Buffalo Soldiers and has a great historical museum and US Cemetery. In 2006 attended a prosession and stood guard with the Patriot Riders at the cemetery enterence. There was a rumor the Topeka wacko's were going to protest at this brave soldiers funeral. I stood with white, black, brown, and native men and women to protect this soldiers family and dignity. It was a good time to be an American !

 

The comment about some poll is very offensive. I dare anybody here to fight a battle for freedom in someone's country, that you don't have in your own. The idioacy never ends.

 

true and i agree.

the tuskagee were a unit to protect bombers from emeny aircraft,the white unit pilots lost some bombers while the tuskagee africans never lost one single bomber at all.(pretty impressive)
they deserve to be honered and not forgotten.

 

hi.
if you are meaning black american gis risking there lives for no reason cause there is no black african in europe,that's not true!
there were blacks africans in europe during ww2,there were some in Frace(french army had some units of african units and soldiers fighting for france) also germany had celvelian black population and so did England.
of cause a small porstion though,but there were africans living in europe,so i don't think amercan black gis died for nothing.