Stephen Ambrose identified the lamentable American irony of WWII, writing, “The world’s greatest democracy fought the world’s greatest racist with a segregated army”.

Although African Americans have been the victims of racial oppression throughout the history of the United States, they have always supported the nation, especially during wartime.

During WWII over 2.5 million black men registered for the draft and one million served as draftees or volunteers in all of the branches of the Armed Forces. Most black men who served were in the Army and were relegated to segregated combat support groups.

More than 12,000 African Americans who served in the segregated 92nd Division received citations and were decorated for their effort, and the all-black 761st Tank Battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation for “extraordinary heroism.”

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