Leadership in Uniform and Beyond: How the Military Service and Moral Leadership of

WWII Era  442nd Veterans, Tuskegee Airmen, and other Excluded Americans Led to Civil

Rights 

In honor of Veterans’ Day 2012, North Seattle Community College presents

 

Desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces

“It is hereby declared to be the policy of the president that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin…”

Excerpt from Executive Order 9981, signed by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1948

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team

“Go for broke” ~ motto of the 442nd

Asian Americans have fought for the United States since the Civil War. Joseph L. Pierce, who arrived in the U.S. from China at about age 10, enlisted in the 14th Connecticut Infantry in August 1862. This brief collection of images will focus on WWII.

Learn more : http://www.army.mil/asianpacificsoldiers/history

Executive Order 9066

Oakland, Calif., March 1942. A large sign reading "I am an American" placed in the window of a store, at 13th and Franklin streets, on December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor. The store was closed following orders to persons of Japanese descent to evacuate from certain West Coast areas. The owner, a University of California graduate, was added to the list of people to be sent to an internment camp. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Japanese-Americans were perceived as a threat to national security based solely on their ethnic ancestry. Consequently, on March 18, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the War Relocation Authority. Under Executive Order 9066, thousands of Japanese-Americans were moved involuntarily to internment camps created throughout the United States. Despite being subjected to prejudice and discrimination, a large number of Nisei (second generation Japanese-Americans born in the United States) volunteered for service in the U.S. Army. Nisei units were deployed in the Mediterranean and European theaters of war.

March 1943.

First volunteer in the Territory of Hawaii to take the oath of induction into the U.S. Army Combat Regiment being organized for Americans of Japanese ancestry, Mitsuru Doi, eighteen, of Lihue, Kauai, pledges allegiance to the United States.

U.S. Army Signal Corps photo.

March, 1943: Mitsuru Doi and other Japanese-American volunteers (Hervert Y. Kondo, eighteen, son of a World War I veteran; and Chits Ugi, twenty-three, and Minoru Manabe, twenty-eight, first pair of brothers to be inducted into the AJA combat regiment) train with Sergeant John H. Chynoweth. U.S. Army Corps photo.

Japanese Americans in military uniforms hold American flag over casket while priest gives service. L to R: Sam Kojima, unidentified soldier, Sam Masuhara, unidentified priest, Bob Ishimoto, Tom Hara, unidentified soldier.

Source: California State University, Sacramento. Library. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.

Americans of Japanese descent, Infantrymen of the 442nd Regiment, run for cover as a German artillery shell is about to land outside the building. Italy. 04/04/1945 .

National Archives.

The Tuskegee Airmen

Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, "Tuskegee Airmen," the elite, all-African American 332nd Fighter Group at Ramitelli, Italy. From left to right, Lt. Dempsey W. Morgan, Lt. Carroll S. Woods, Lt. Robert H. Nelson, Jr., Capt. Andrew D. Turner, and Lt. Clarence P. Lester. Circa August 1944. Source: U.S. Air Force / National Archives and Records Administration.

All bloodrunsred

Spit fire

~ mottoes of the Tuskegee Airmen

Black Americans have been involved in American military activity since the Revolutionary War. Boston patriot, Crispus Attucks is widely believed to have been the first casualty of the Revolutionary War in 1770.

On January 16, 1941, the War Department announced the formation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, an African-American unit, and of the Tuskegee Institute training program. On March 7, 1942, the first graduating class of the Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Tuskegee Field included Col. (later Gen.) Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who became the commanding officer of the 99th Fighter Squadron and later the 332d Fighter Group. The squadron later used new fighter planes, P-51 Mustangs. The tails were painted crimson according to the Tuskegee Airmen's motto: "All blood runs red."

(Source: National Archives)

Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. at an air base in Italy. Photo by Toni Frissell. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The Tuskegee Airmen’s success disproved bigoted beliefs that Blacks were unable to maintain and fly airplanes.

Crew chief Marcellus G. Smith, Louisville, KY, 100th F.S., Ramitelli, Italy, March, 1945.

Photograph shows a pilot from the 332nd Fighter Group signing the Form One Book, indicating any discrepancies of aircraft, prior to take off.

Photos by Toni Frissell. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The 99th Fighter Squadron went to North Africa in April 1943 and flew its first combat mission against the island of Pantelleria on June 2, 1943. Capt. Charles B. Hall was the first African-American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. Later the squadron, operating from its base in North Africa, supported the invasion of Italy and participated in the air battle against Sicily.

The 332d Fighter Group flew more than 3,000 missions in Europe and destroyed almost 300 enemy planes. Eighty-eight of the group's pilots received the Distinguished Flying Cross, proving their test by fire a success.

(Source: National Archives)

Tuskegee airmen Marcellus G. Smith and Roscoe C. Brown, Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945. Photo: Toni Frissell.

Col. Benjamin O. Davis, full-length portrait, and Edward C. Gleed, wearing flight gear, standing next to airplane, and looking upward, at air base in Italy. March, 1945. Photo by Toni Frissell. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Members of the 332nd Fighter Group attending a briefing in Ramitelli, Italy, March, 1945. Photograph by Toni Frissell shows members of the 332nd, from left to right: Robert W. Williams, Ottumwa, IA, Class 44-E; (leather cap) William H. Holloman, III, St. Louis, Mo., Class 44-?; (cloth cap) Ronald W. Reeves, Washington, D.C., Class 44-G; (leather cap) Christopher W. Newman, St. Louis, MO, Class 43-I; (flight cap) Walter M. Downs, New Orleans, LA, Class 43-B. (Source: Photographer's notes and Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group pilots.)

Double Victory Campaign

Source: hennessyhistory.wikispaces.com

During WWII, the Black press (for example, newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender) called for a “Double V”, victory at home: victory in the USA against racist violence, as well as legislated and de facto racial segregation (“Jim Crow”) in addition to victory over the Axis powers.

Source: Newseum

Despite racial discrimination and social exclusion, Americans of many ethnicities joined the war effort

Hispanic soldiers enter a recording van set up to let soldiers record their voices for family and friends. Source: National Archives at Riverside, California. Learn more about the history

of Hispanic / Latino soldiers in the U.S. Army: http://www.army.mil/hispanicamericans/

Soldiers of 65th Infantry during and after maneuvers at Salinas, Puerto Rico, August 1941.

Source: U.S. Army.

Code Talkers

Navajo Code Talkers Henry Bake and George Kirk, December 1943. Source: National Archives.

During World War II, the U.S. Marine Corps, in an effort to find quicker and more secure ways to send and receive code enlisted Navajos as "code talkers." the U.S. Marine Corps, in World War II, enlisted Navajo Indians as "code talkers." These Native Americans became signalmen and used their own mostly unwritten Navajo language to code and send messages and help the Marines battle across the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese were never able to break the code.

After the war, the "code talkers" returned home but were sworn to secrecy about the code, which remained classified until 1968. In 2001, President George W. Bush honored 29 code talkers with special gold medals.

Choctaw and Comanche signalmen and other Native American soldiers also served as code talkers.

"Since the birth of America, [American Indians and Alaska Natives] have contributed immeasurably to our country and our heritage, distinguishing themselves as scholars, artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders in all aspects of our society. Native Americans have also served in the United States Armed Forces with honor and distinction, defending the security of our Nation with their lives." -A Proclamation by President Barack Obama

• Learn more: http://www.army.mil/nativeamericans/

Pfc. Preston Toledo and Pfc. Frank Toledo, Navajo cousins in a Marine artillery regiment in the South Pacific, relay orders over a field radio in their native tongue. Source: National Archives and Records Administration

Learn more about the Comanche Code Talkers in this article about Charles Chibitty:http://www.army.mil/article/90294/Charles_Chibitty__Comanche_Code_Talker/

National Archives and Records Administration Still Picture Branch

Dorie Miller

Doris ("Dorie") Miller was born in Waco, Texas, on 12 October 1919. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in September 1939 as a Mess Attendant Third Class. On 7 December 1941, while serving aboard USS West Virginia (BB-48), he distinguished himself by courageous conduct and devotion to duty during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Miller fired an anti-aircraft machine gun at attacking airplanes while bombs fell on the ship. After numerous articles about Miller and the lack of official recognition were published in the Black press, he was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on this occasion.

Doris Miller served aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) from December 1941 to May 1943. He was then assigned to the escort carrier Liscome Bay (CVE-56). Cook Third Class Miller was lost with that ship when she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on 24 November 1943, during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

Source: http://www.history.navy.mil/

Dorie Miller just after being presented with the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, on board USS Enterprise (CV-6) at Pearl Harbor, 27 May 1942. Speaking of Miller, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz remarked:“This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure that the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts.”

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Major General Henry T. Burgin, commanding general, Central Pacific Base Command, presents Miss Vivian Chong, Honolulu, Hawaii, with her record of service with the Women's Army Volunteer Corps at the final review of the Organized Defense Volunteer Unit at Iolani Palace on 2 July 1945.

Members of this organization donated their services to the Army as their contribution to the prosecution of the war against Japan, driving trucks, performing many types of clerical work, without compensation.

Source: U.S. Army Signal Corps/University of Hawaii at Manoa Library, Hawaii War Records Depository Photos.

African American WACs stand in formation during basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, in April 1943.Source: Marjorie R. Suggs Edwards papers, Jackson Library, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Petrina Moore, “a full-blooded Cherokee Indian” woman, welding for the war effort at the Todd Hoboken dry dock, circa 1943. Photographer: Alfred T. Palmer. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Portrait of WAC (Women’s Army Corps) member Marjorie Randolph Suggs Edwards, circa 1944. Source: Marjorie Randolph Suggs Edwards Papers, Jackson Library, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

U.S. Government Printing Office, 1942. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

"U.S. Army nurses, newly arrived, line the rail of their vessel as it pulls into port of Greenock, Scotland, in European Theater of Operations. They wait to disembark as the gangplank is lowered to the dock.“ 08/15/1944. Source: Department of Defense / Signal Corps Photographs of American Military Activity. National Archives.

"American Negro nurses in Australia." Source: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Marine Corps women reservists Minnie Spotted Wolf (Blackfoot), Celia Mix (Potawatomi), and Viola Eastman (Chippewa). Camp Lejeune, NC. October 16, 1943.Photo credit: Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Overseas Operations Branch. News and Features Bureau. Picture Division. (1942 - 1945). Records of the Office of War Information. Source: National Archives.

Members of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the first all-African-American, all-female unit to serve overseas in World War II, take part in a parade ceremony in honor of Joan d'Arc at the marketplace where she was burned at the stake.", 05/27/1945. Paris, France.

Photograph by Alexander Liberman, 1943 Printed by the Government Printing Office for the War Manpower Commission

NARA Still Picture Branch

Dear VeteransTHANK YOU

for your service

Thanks to:NSCC Program Planners:

Kevin Christopher, Arts and LecturesJanet Hoppe-Leonard, Student Leadership and Multicultural Services

Kelly Hsu, LibraryLydia Minatoya, Counseling

Zola Mumford, LibraryWadiyah Nelson, Library

Tomoko Okada, Arts and Lectures, studentSharon Simes, Library

Student Fee BoardDavin Simmons, Vet Corps, student

Gregg Tessensohn, Veterans and Special Accounts   This presentation was researched and

assembled by Zola Mumford, NSCC Library

Resources• African American Women in the Military and at War: Selected Reading List http://

www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/africanamericanwomenwar.html• African Americans in the U.S. Navy: A Bibliography

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq57-1.htm• Asian Pacific Americans in the U.S. Army: http://

www.army.mil/asianpacificsoldiers/history.html• Cool Chicks from History http://coolchicksfromhistory.tumblr.com• Double Victory, a documentary film produced by George Lucas and directed by

Anthony Hemingway• Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Army: http://www.army.mil/hispanicamericans/• Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division http://www.loc.gov/pictures/• Native Americans in the U.S. Army: http://www.army.mil/nativeamericans/• National Archives: www.archives.gov• NSCC Library LibGuide by Librarian Michelle Schewe , on the history of veterans

of color: http://bit.ly/Vzc4TT• "Semper Fidelis, Code Talkers" by Adam Jevec http://1.usa.gov/w93pUu• Takaki, Ronald. Double Victory: a Multicultural History of America in World War

Two. New York: Little, Brown, 2000.• U.S. Army History: http://www.army.mil/info/history/• Veterans History Project : www.loc.gov/vets/