Black Soldiers During WWII

Paper Summary:

It is all too easy to forget that the black servicemen and servicewomen who fought for the United States in World War II had to face not only the united forces of Japanese and European fascist troops, they also had to fight against the debilitating and humiliating forces of racism at home before they were even given the chance to fight. This paper looks at the reasons why African-Americans joined the army, the hurdles they faced before they could enlist and the problems they encountered as black soldiers. The paper focuses on the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black aviators who trained near Tuskegee during World War II and contributed greatly to America's victory.

From the Paper:

"Despite the odds against them, many black Americans did sign up to serve for their country in the war. They did this partly out of a sense of patriotism, partly (in at least some cases) for personal ambition "perhaps because they saw the armed forces as one of the few ways that they might get ahead in a racist country" and partly because many of them believed that if they went to war for their country then conditions after the war would improve for all black Americans, who would have once again demonstrated their loyalty (Homan and Reilly, 1998, p. 11). The same thing would happen during the Korean and especially the Vietnam War with Native Americans, who would also sign up to fight for a country that had so rarely fought for them in an attempt to show their loyalty and patriotism, to improve their own personal lives, and to try to improve the lot of all Native Americans (Scott and Womack, 1998, p. 37). It was especially ironic, however, that black Americans should have to fight so hard to fight for the United States during World War II, which was at its heart a war about the importance of respecting people of different races."

More papers on Black Soldiers During WWII:

• Descriptive Essay # 111490 : "Black Soldiers in WWII"
• Research Paper # 96492 : "Blacks in WWII & Vietnam"
• Essay # 65203 : "African-Americans in World War II"

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