I As I Saw It: The Memoir Of An African American Soldier By Bruce Wright

Before WORLD WAR I, military service represented a source of black pride. Black educators, clergymen, and the press frequently referred to Negro heroes of America’s past wars. After the Civil War, the U.S, Army maintained four regular Negro regiments –the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry. These units included veterans of the civil war and the frontier Indian fighting regiments. Retired sergeants often became respected, conservative leaders in their communities. This history set a foundation for black support and involvement in America’s future wars.

When the war ended in 1919, the African-American community was outraged. Their soldiers were not shown any type of gratitude. Instead, they were the victims of violence. For example, of the seventy-five Blacks lynched in 1919, ten were World War I veterans. The disappointment that World War I left on the Black community served as fuel for the fire Garvey’s radical movement.

Despite having dealt with unwritten laws known as the, “Jim Crow” laws, many African American Soldiers still decided, without being drafted, to enlist in the military, only to be met with more segregation, separation and deference. Many of them worked in supporting roles in the service. One such supporting role was called the Service Force. George was one of those soldiers serving in the Service Force. George believes the Service Force was just as important as any other role in the military. He states, “I can work with a certain satisfaction that my work behind the ‘lines’ is the only direct support that the men ‘Up Front’ have.” I believe George had the hoped that when returning from the War, African Americans would have earned equality and respect from their fellow countrymen. In writing a letter to his sister, George states, “we hope that the American people won’t forget that if we can work and fight for the Democratic Way, that we are entitled to enjoy every privilege it affords when this mess is

Following the victory of Allied forces from World War I, black troops were sent home to a whole other war for Democracy. African Americans still faced many

The Civil War was one of America’s most brutal battles in history. Majority of which being white, male soldiers. Over the years, many historians have argued the actual involvement of blacks during the civil war era. Many claiming that they were doing nothing more than assisting the actual, white soldiers in combat such as, nurses, and wagon drivers, not actually picking up the gun and shooting alongside in battle. Most people look over the fact that almost ten percent, or 180,000, of the Union army were African American. Though a small fraction of the amount of total soldiers during the war, their involvement is still significant. These soldiers recruited and voluntarily, committing the same acts of bravery of any Caucasian solider, due to the prejudice against them, they were pushed to the back burner and treated with disrespect, virtually diminishing their extensive courageous acts. Nevertheless these soldiers made an impact in world changing war.

This paper will go on to describe the direct impact of the Great War on all African American migration, military service, and political protest. These three things would have combined to make the years of the Great War a major impact on African American history. When war first erupted in Europe in August of 1914, most Americans - African Americans included - did not see a reason for the United States to get involved, many viewing the bloodshed as petty in the activities of their everyday lives. This belief of neutrality amongst the people would only grow stronger as stalemates ensued, and death rates climbed higher. As the war raged on, the Black press would aim its papers to side with the French, because of their continued commitment for racial equality, as well as, their employment of African soldiers in their military. When the United States entered the war, it would have a great impact on many African Americans, particularly the many men, women, and children who embarked on the Great Migration - the largest movement of people in American history.

As war spread across Europe in 1914-1918, black Americans saw a second opportunity in which they could use the war to their advantage, in securing the respect of their white neighbours. This contemporary conflict brought about great controversy within the black community, being asked to fight for a democracy on behalf of a country in which they did not receive equal treatment. Many activists did support the war effort, including DuBois announcing ‘while the war lasts [blacks] must forget [their] special grievances … fight shoulder to shoulder with white fellow citizens… For democracy’ (Heinze, 2003). Paradoxically, when it came to the drafting of the volunteers, blacks came under a total polarization of customary discriminatory practice. Blacks were instructed to tear corners of their registry cards, thus becoming easily identified, to be inducted separately to white volunteers. (Murray, 1971). Now, under usual circumstances, the Black citizens would be turned away, the war office began doing all they could within their power to bring them into service, and surprisingly, this was most common among the Southern boards, demonstrated by the Confederate army during the civil war. The army established a more progressive attitude toward race relations than mainland America, by the end of 1917, African Americans served in cavalry, infantry, medical and engineer positions. The war allowed for the black Americans to begin asserting their citizenship, protesting racial injustice on

“. . . In the face of heavy odds, black troops had proved once again their courage, determination, and willingness to die for the freedom of their race”

The story of African American soldiers in the American Civil War is often a forgotten one. The history of the war is usually presented as white Northerners versus white Southerners as blacks waited on the sidelines as their fate was determined. This portrayal is highly inaccurate considering over 180,000 African American troops fought in the war and eventually obtained their own regiments under the United States Colored Troops as a part of the Union Army. Composed on May, 22, 1863, the USCT strengthened the Union Army’s numbers and contributed significantly to battles such as the Skirmish at Island Mound and Fort Wagner. Even with their contributions, African American soldiers are often overlooked in favor of other narratives. However, black historian George Washington Williams was one of the first to write the history of black troops today. His belief was that the history of black troops and their valor were a major contribution to American Civil War history. While controversial at the time, this view is not uncommon today and historians have continued to study the significance of black troops. Gregory J. W. Urwin and other historians recently wrote a critique on the treatment of black soldiers, acknowledging atrocities against them were committed often. Urwin tries to provide a honest history to the brutality of the black solider.

One of the ways in which blacks were awarded new opportunities was in the military. During the American Revolution, there were two sides of the war; the Loyalists who were loyal to King George III and the British government, and the Patriots who supported Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. During this time, some slaves obtained freedom if they served in the military. Those who were not offered that opportunity were enticed to join the Loyalists in return for their freedom. Although, in the end, both sides helped African Americans find their freedom where they could (Holton, 57). During the war, African Americas were used in various ways, such as guides, spies, and soldiers, but they were only allowed to do the jobs that did not require much skill, as people did not think they were very skillful (Holton, 57). One of the first battles in which many African Americans fought in was the Battle of Bunker Hill. On this same day, Congress appointed a southern slaveholder as commander of the newly formed Continental Army. When George Washington arrived to the battle site, he was baffled at the disorganization of the New England soldiers and called for a total reform of the army. One of the things he did during this reform was the removal of slaves and free blacks from the Continental Army. This reform lasted an insignificant amount of time as Washington feared that the free blacks that were no longer in the Continental Army would enlist

Nowadays, cross-cultural communication is one of the keys to survive in this society. It plays an important role in our society. The book, A long way gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier, describes several cross cultural issues. This book is based on the true story of Ishamel Beah, who was solder in Republic of Sierra Leone. During his life time, he face a number of cultural shocks and tried to adapt each situation. Through story of his life, we can recognize some cultural differences and similarities between his central culture, Sierra Leon, and other individuals/groups. Thus, in this essay, I would like to discuss how are cultural differences and similarities between Ishamel’s culture and other cultures revealed. There are three main points; cultural differences shows cultural conflict and cultural integration, and cultural similarities reflects the Americanization.

     According to the author Tim O’Brien, people tend to readily accept the ‘facts’ presented of what happened during a war. People do not consider the existence of fallacies regarding the actual stories of what happens in wars, few consider that the ‘facts’ of an incident often change through people’s words. The film ‘Saving the Private Ryan’ by Steven Spielberg features both facts and seemingness part of the war story. Since it is so difficult to fully describe a war using human language, Spielberg ended up revising his stories to make sense out of it. Spielberg included parts that did not occur or exclude parts that did occur in order to make their stories seem more credible. According

Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran. He recalls that when he enlisted in the army he was proud because he believed what the newspapers said. It was not long until he was forced to hold back his patriotism in the face of the blatant racism he experienced: “I believed that I was part of the hope of the world. But then I found that the army was segregated just like the South” (Mosley 104). In the beginning of the war Easy worked as a typist because black soldiers were segregated from the white soldiers and usually put in noncombatant positions. This was until the year 1944, when the Armed Forces were temporarily desegregated and black

Referring to his World War I experiences, Colonel James A. Moss, commander of the 367th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division, stated, "As fighting troops, the Negro must be rated as second-class material, this primarily to his inferior intelligence and lack of mental and moral qualities." Colonel Perry L. Miles,

In the short film, “The Negro Soldier,” the whole focus was to get African Americans to join the military. With the use of propaganda, the U.S. government hoped to promote getting African Americans to want to fight for their country. It hoped to instill patriotism in them. It showed that Germany and the Nazis had no respect for them and considered them the scum of the earth. It also portrayed them being accepted as equals into the American society. It was used to make them think they were wanted and play a major role in the success of the war against germany. And to ultimately make Germany and the Nazis look like the bad guys (destroying their monuments) instead of the racist America they lived in. It also portrayed African American soldiers prior contributions in previously fought wars as pivotal moments in American history. It made it seem like they were the reason for those victories. It also explained how the African American soldiers were honored with tributes, memorials, medals and parades for their service in the military. In the ongoing WWII, it was said that there were three times the number of African Americans soldiers in WWII than in WWI. Also, many more were getting commissioned and attending West Point and OCS (Officer Candidate School). African American men that were once printers, tailors, entertainers are now soldiers in the Army as gunners, tankers, radio operators, mechanics, quartermasters, and infantrymen. They were now the backbone of