Military history of African Americans

The military history
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....

of African Americans spans from the arrival of the first black slaves

History of slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States was a form of slave labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in...

during the colonial history of the United States to the present day. There has been no war fought by or within the United States in which African Americans did not participate, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, the Spanish American War, the World War

World war

A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....

s, the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, and the wars in Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

and Iraq, as well as other minor conflicts.

Revolutionary War

African-Americans as slaves and free blacks, served on both sides during the war. Black soldiers served in northern militias from the outset, but this was forbidden in the South, where slave-owners feared arming slaves. Lord Dunmore

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine . He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.John was the eldest son of William and Catherine Murray, and nephew...

, the Royal Governor of Virginia, issued an emancipation proclamation in November 1775, promising freedom to runaway slaves who fought for the British; Sir Henry Clinton

Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)

General Sir Henry Clinton KB was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America...

issued a similar edict in New York in 1779. Over 100,000 slaves escaped to the British lines, although possibly as few as 1,000 served under arms. Many of the rest served as orderlies, mechanics, laborers, servants, scouts and guides, although more than half died in smallpox epidemics that swept the British forces, and many were driven out of the British lines when food ran low. Despite Dunmore's promises, the majority were not given their freedom. Many Black Loyalist

Black Loyalist

A Black Loyalist was an inhabitant of British America of African descent who joined British colonial forces during the American Revolutionary War...

s' descendants now live in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

In response, and because of manpower shortages, Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

lifted the ban on black enlistment in the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

in January 1776. All-black units were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; many were slaves promised freedom for serving in lieu of their masters; another all-African-American unit came from Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

with French forces. At least 5,000 African-American soldiers fought as Revolutionaries, and at least 20,000 served with the British.

Peter Salem

Peter Salem

Peter Salem was an African American who served as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, a slave of Jeremiah Belknap. Salem was later sold to Lawson Buckminster, who gave him his freedom. At least one record calls him "Salem Middlesex"- Military...

and Salem Poor

Salem Poor

Born into slavery in Andover, Massachusetts, Salem Poor managed to buy his freedom in 1769 for £27. Poor soon married a free African American woman named Nancy. In 1775, he enlisted in the militia, serving under Captain Benjamin Ames in Colonel James Fryes' regiment, opposing the British troops...

are the most noted of the African American Patriot

Patriot (American Revolution)

Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...

s during this era, while Black Loyalist Colonel Tye

Colonel Tye

Colonel Tye, also known as Titus Cornelius , was a slave of African descent in New Jersey who achieved notability during the American Revolutionary War by his leadership and fighting skills, when he fought as a Loyalist...

became one of the most successful commanders of the war.

Black volunteers also served with various of the South Carolina guerrilla units, including that of the "Swamp Fox", Francis Marion, half of whose force sometimes consisted of free Blacks. These Black troops made a critical difference in the fighting in the swamps, since they were immune to malaria through sickle-cell anemia, and kept Marion's guerrillas effective even when many of his White troops were down with malaria or yellow fever.

The first black American to fight in the Marines was John Martin, also known as Keto, the slave of a Delaware man, recruited in April 1776 without his owner's permission by Captain of the Marines Miles Pennington of the Continental brig USS Reprisal

USS Reprisal (1776)

USS Reprisal, 18, was the first ship of what was to become the United States Navy to be given the name promising hostile action in response to an offence...

. Martin served with the Marine platoon on the Reprisal for a year and a half and took part in many ship-to-ship battles including boardings

Boarding (attack)

Boarding, in its simplest sense, refers to the insertion on to a ship's deck of individuals. However, when it is classified as an attack, in most contexts, it refers to the forcible insertion of personnel that are not members of the crew by another party without the consent of the captain or crew...

with hand-to-hand combat, but he was lost with the rest of his unit when the brig sank in October 1777. At least 12 other black men served with various American Marine units in 1776–1777; more may have been in service but not identified as blacks in the records. However, in 1798 when the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

(USMC) was officially re-instituted, Secretary of War

United States Secretary of War

The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...

James McHenry

James McHenry was an early American statesman. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland and the namesake of Fort McHenry...

specified in its rules: "No Negro, Mulatto or Indian to be enlisted". Marine Commandant William Ward Burrows instructed his recruiters regarding USMC racial policy, "You can make use of Blacks and Mulattoes while you recruit, but you cannot enlist them." This policy was in line with long-standing British naval practice which set a higher standard of unit cohesion for Marines so that they would remain loyal, maintain shipboard discipline and help put down mutinies. The USMC maintained this policy until 1942.

War of 1812

During the War of 1812

War of 1812

, about one-quarter of the personnel in the American naval squadrons of the Battle of Lake Erie

Battle of Lake Erie

The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...

were black, and portrait renderings of the battle on the wall of the Nation's Capitol and the rotunda of Ohio's Capitol show that blacks played a significant role in it.

No legal restrictions regarding the enlistment of blacks were placed on the Navy because of its chronic shortage of manpower. The law of 1792, which generally prohibited enlistment of blacks in the Army became the United States Army's official policy until 1862. The only exception to this Army policy was Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, which gained an exemption at the time of its purchase through a treaty provision, which allowed it to opt out of the operation of any law, which ran counter to its traditions and customs. Louisiana permitted the existence of separate black militia units which drew its enlistees from freed blacks.

A militia unit, The Louisiana Battalion of Free Men of Color, and a unit of black soldiers from Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...

offered their services and were accepted by General Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

in the Battle of New Orleans

Battle of New Orleans

The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...

, a victory that was achieved after the war was officially over.

Mexican War

A number of blacks in the Army during the Mexican War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

were servants of the officers who received government compensation for the services of their servants or slaves. Also, soldiers from the Louisiana Battalion of Free Men of Color participated in this war. Blacks also served on a number of naval vessels during the Mexican War, including the U.S.S. Treasure, and the U.S.S. Columbus.

U.S. Civil War

The history of African Americans in the U.S. Civil War is marked by 186,097 (7,122 officers, 178,975 enlisted) African American men, comprising 163 units, who served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

during the Civil War, and many more African Americans served in the Union Navy

Union Navy

The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...

. Both free African Americans and runaway slaves joined the fight. On the Confederate side, blacks, both free and slave, were used for labor, but the issue of whether to arm them, and under what terms, became a major source of debate amongst those in the South. At the start of the war, a Louisiana Confederate militia unit composed of free blacks was raised, but never accepted into Confederate service. On March 13, 1865 the Confederate Congress enacted a statute to allow the enlistment of African Americans but fewer than fifty were ever recruited.

Indian Wars

From the 1870s to the early 20th century, African American units were utilized by the United States Government to combat the Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

during the Indian Wars

Indian Wars

American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...

. Perhaps the most noted among this group were the Buffalo Soldiers:

9th Cavalry Regiment
10th Cavalry Regiment
24th Infantry Regiment
24th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and again from 1995 until 2006. The regiment is notable for having a colorfully checkered history, with a record of mostly meritorious service and valorous combat performance interspersed with episodes of...
25th Infantry Regiment
27th Cavalry Regiment
28th Cavalry Regiment

At the end of the U.S. Civil War the army reorganized and authorized the formation of two regiments of black cavalry with the designations 9th and 10th U. S. Cavalry. Two regiments of infantry were formed at the same time. These units were composed of black enlisted men commanded by white officers such as Benjamin Grierson

Benjamin Grierson

Benjamin Henry Grierson was a music teacher and then a career officer in the United States Army. He was a cavalry general in the volunteer Union Army during the American Civil War and later led troops in the American Old West...

, and, occasionally, an African-American officer such as Henry O. Flipper

Henry Ossian Flipper

Henry Ossian Flipper was an American soldier and though born into slavery in the American South, was the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877 at the age of 21 and earn a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army.Following Flipper's...

.

From 1866 to the early-1890s these regiments served at a variety of posts in the southwest United States and Great Plains

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...

regions. During this period they participated in most of the military campaigns in these areas and earned a distinguished record. Thirteen enlisted men and six officers from these four regiments earned the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

during the Indian Wars. In addition to the military campaigns, the "Buffalo Soldiers" served a variety of roles along the frontier from building roads to escorting the U.S. mail.

Spanish American War

After the Indian Wars ended in the 1890s, the regiments continued to serve and participated in the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

(including the Battle of San Juan Hill

Battle of San Juan Hill

The Battle of San Juan Hill , also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights, was a decisive battle of the Spanish-American War. The San Juan heights was a north-south running elevation about two kilometers east of Santiago de Cuba. The names San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill were names given by the...

), where five more Medals of Honor were earned. They took part in the 1916 Punitive Expedition into Mexico and in the Philippine-American War

Philippine-American War

The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...

. The Spanish-American War's General Shafter preferred his "Buffalo Soldiers" to their white counterparts.

Units

In addition to the African Americans who served in Regular Army units during the Spanish American War, five African American Volunteer Army units and seven African American National Guard units also served.

Volunteer Army:

7th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
8th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
9th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
10th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
11th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)

National Guard:

3rd Alabama Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
Companies A and B, 1st Indiana Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
23rd Kansas Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
3rd North Carolina Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
6th Virginia Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)

Of these units, only the 9th U.S., 8th Illinois, and 23rd Kansas served outside the United States during the war. All three units served in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

and suffered no losses to combat.

World War I

The U.S. armed forces remained segregated through World War I. Still, many African Americans eagerly volunteered to join the Allied

Allies of World War I

The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

cause following America's entry into the war. By the time of the armistice with Germany

Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)

The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...

on November 1918, over 350,000 African Americans had served with the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front.

Most African American units were largely relegated to support roles and did not see combat. Still, African Americans played a notable role in America's war effort. One of the most distinguished units was the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Harlem Hellfighters", which was on the front lines for six months, longer than any other American unit in the war. 171 members of the 369th were awarded the Legion of Merit

Legion of Merit

The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

.

Corporal Freddie Stowers

Freddie Stowers

Freddie Stowers was a Corporal in the United States Army who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War I while serving in an American unit under French command....

of the 371st Infantry Regiment that was seconded to the 157th French Army division called the Red Hand Division in need of reinforcement under the command of the General Mariano Goybet

Mariano Goybet

Mariano Francisco Julio Goybet was a French Army general that held several senior commands in World War I.-An old Savoy family:...

was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

—the only African American to be so honored for actions in World War I. During action in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Stowers had led an assault on German trenches, continuing to lead and encourage his men even after being twice wounded. Stowers died from his wounds, but his men continued the fight and eventually defeated the German troops

Reichswehr

The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....

. Stowers was recommended for the Medal of Honor shortly after his death, but the nomination was, according to the Army, misplaced. Many believed that the recommendation was intentionally ignored due to institutional racism in the Armed Forces. In 1990, under pressure from Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, the Department of the Army

United States Department of the Army

The Department of the Army is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency which the United States Army is organized within, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has...

launched an investigation. Based on findings from this investigation, the Army Decorations Board approved the award of the Medal of Honor to Stowers. On April 24, 1991–73 years after he was killed in action—Stowers' two surviving sisters received the Medal of Honor from President George H.W. Bush at the White House. The success of the investigation leading to Stowers' Medal of Honor later sparked a similar review that resulted in six African Americans being posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II. Vernon Baker was the only recipient who was still alive to receive his award.

Units

Some of the most notable African American units which served in World War I were:

92nd Infantry Division
- 366th Infantry Regiment
93rd Infantry Division
- 369th Infantry Regiment ("Harlem Hellfighters"; formerly the 15th New York National Guard)
- 370th Infantry Regiment
  370th Infantry Regiment (United States)
  The 370th Infantry Regiment was the designation for one of the infantry regiments of the 93rd Infantry Division.-8th Infantry Regiment, Illinois National Guard:This was an all-black militia regiment founded in the 1870s....
  
  (formerly the 8th Illinois)
- 371st Infantry Regiment
- 372nd Infantry Regiment
  372nd Infantry Regiment (United States)
  The 372nd Infantry Regiment. was an African American regiment, nominally a part of the 93rd Infantry Division , that served with the French Army in World War I....

A complete list of African-American units that served in the war is published in the book Willing Patriots: Men of Color in World War One. The book is cited in the "Further Reading" section of this article.

Period between the world wars

Even though the U.S. government was nominally neutral in the wars waged by Fascists against Ethiopia

Ethiopian Empire

The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...

and Fascists and Nazis against the Spanish Republic

Second Spanish Republic

The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

in the mid 1930s, African Americans found it hard to be neutral and many became Antifascist.

Second Italo-Abyssinian War

On October 4, 1935, Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia. Being the only non-colonized African country besides Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

, the invasion of Ethiopia caused a profound response amongst African Americans. African Americans organized to raise money for medical supplies, and many volunteered to fight for the African kingdom. Within eight months, however, Ethiopia was overpowered by the advanced weaponry and mustard gas of the Italian forces.

Many years later Haile Selassie I would comment on the efforts: "We can never forget the help Ethiopia received from Negro Americans during the crisis...It moved me to know that Americans of African descent did not abandon their embattled brothers, but stood by us."

Spanish Civil War

When General Franco rebelled against the newly-established secular Spanish Republic

Second Spanish Republic

The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

, a number of African Americans volunteered to fight for Republican Spain. Many African Americans who were in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade had Communist ideals. Among these, there was Vaughn Love who went to fight for the Spanish loyalist cause because he considered Fascism

Fascism

Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...

to be the "enemy of all black aspirations."

African-American activist and World War I veteran Oliver Law

Oliver Law

Oliver Law was an African American communist and labor organizer, who fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. He was the commander of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade for four days.-Background:...

, fighting in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Abraham Lincoln Brigade

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....

during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, is believed to have been the first African-American officer to command an integrated unit of soldiers.

James Peck

James Peck (pilot)

James L. H. Peck was an American pilot who served in the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.-Biography:Peck was one of the few African-American aviators in the Air Force of the Spanish Republic...

was an African American man from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

who was turned down when he applied to become a military pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

in the US. He then went on to serve in the Spanish Republican Air Force

Spanish Republican Air Force

The Spanish Republican Air Force, , was the air arm of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939...

until 1938. Peck was credited with shooting down 5 Aviación Nacional

Aviación Nacional

Aviación Nacional or Fuerza Aérea Nacional may refer to any of the following military air units supporting General Franco in the Spanish Civil War:*Condor Legion, of Nazi Germany*Aviazione Legionaria, of Fascist Italy...

planes, 2 Heinkel He-51s from the Legion Condor and 3 Fiat CR.32

Fiat CR.32

The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. This nimble little Fiat was compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable and gave impressive displays all over Europe in the hands of the Pattuglie Acrobatiche. The CR.32 fought in North and East Africa, in...

Fascist Italian

Aviazione Legionaria

The Legionary Air Force was an expeditionary corps from the Italian Royal Air Force. It was set up in 1936 and sent to provide logistical and tactical support to Francisco Franco's Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, alongside its German equivalent, the Condor Legion, and the Italian ground...

fighters. But there are sources claiming that he shot down only one.

Salaria Kee was a young African American nurse from Harlem Hospital who served as a military nurse with the American Medical Bureau in the Spanish Civil War. She was one of the two only African American female volunteers in the midst of the war-torn Spanish Republican areas. When Salaria came back from Spain she wrote the pamphlet ‘A Negro Nurse in Spain’ and tried to raise funds for the beleaguered Spanish Republic.

World War II

Despite a high enlistment rate in the U.S. Army, African Americans were not treated equally. Racial tensions existed. At parades, church services, in transportation and canteens the races were kept separate.

Many soldiers of color served their country with distinction during World War II. There were 125,000 African Americans who were overseas in World War II. Famous segregated units, such as the Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....

and 761st Tank Battalion proved their value in combat, leading to desegregation

Desegregation

Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...

of all U.S. Armed Forces by order of President Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

in July 1948 via Executive Order 9981

Executive Order 9981

Executive Order 9981 is an executive order issued on July 26, 1948 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. It expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, or national origins."In 1947, Randolph, along...

.

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was an American born United States Air Force general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen....

served as commander of the famed Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen

during the War. He later went on to become the first African American general in the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.

Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. was an American general and the father of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. He was the first African-American general officer in the United States Army....

, had been the first African American Brigadier General in the Army (1940).

Doris Miller

Doris Miller

Doris "Dorie" Miller was a cook in the United States Navy noted for his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the third highest honor awarded by the U.S...

, a Navy mess attendant, was the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross

Navy Cross

The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...

, awarded for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

. Miller had voluntarily manned an anti-aircraft

Anti-aircraft warfare

NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

gun and fired at the Japanese aircraft, despite having no prior training in the weapon's use.

In 1944, the Golden Thirteen

Golden Thirteen

The Golden Thirteen were the thirteen African American enlisted men who became the first African American commissioned and warrant officers in the United States Navy.-History:...

became the Navy's first African American commissioned officers. Samuel L. Gravely, Jr. became a commissioned officer the same year; he would later be the first African American to command a US warship, and the first to be an admiral.

The Port Chicago disaster

Port Chicago disaster

The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, United States. Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and...

on July 17, 1944, was an explosion of about 2,000 tons of ammunition as it was being loaded onto ships by black Navy soldiers under pressure from their white officers to hurry. The explosion in Northern California killed 320 military and civilian workers, most of them black. The aftermath led to the Port Chicago Mutiny, the only case of a full military trial for mutiny in the history of the U.S. Navy against 50 Afro-American sailors who refused to continue loading ammunition under the same dangerous conditions. The trial was observed by the then young lawyer Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...

and ended in conviction of all of the defendants. The trial was immediately and later criticized for not abiding by the applicable laws on mutiny, and it became influential in the discussion of desegregation.

In 1945, Frederick C. Branch

Frederick C. Branch

Frederick Clinton Branch was the first African-American officer of the United States Marine Corps.-Marine Corps career:...

became the first African-American United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

officer.

Units

Some of the most notable African American Army units which served in World War II were:

92nd Infantry Division
- 366th Infantry Regiment
93rd Infantry Division
- 369th Infantry Regiment
- 370th Infantry Regiment
  370th Infantry Regiment (United States)
  The 370th Infantry Regiment was the designation for one of the infantry regiments of the 93rd Infantry Division.-8th Infantry Regiment, Illinois National Guard:This was an all-black militia regiment founded in the 1870s....
- 371st Infantry Regiment
2nd Cavalry Division
2nd Cavalry Division (United States)
-Heraldry:SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA*Description: On a yellow Norman shield with a green border, a blue chevron below two eight-pointed blue stars.*Blazon: Or, a chevron azure, in chief 2 mullets of eight points of the second, a bordure vert....
- 4th Cavalry Brigade
  4th Cavalry Brigade (United States)
  The 4th Cavalry Brigade is an AC/RC unit based at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The unit is responsible for training selected United States Army Reserve & National Guard units that are based East of the Mississippi River. The brigade was originally formed as an element of the 2nd Cavalry Division but was...
  - 9th Cavalry Regiment
  - 10th Cavalry Regiment
- 5th Cavalry Brigade
  - 27th Cavalry Regiment
    27th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
    The 27th Cavalry Regiment was a short-lived African-American unit of the United States Army. The regiment was formed as part of the 2nd Cavalry Division in 1943 and inactivated in north Africa in 1944 without seeing combat.-History:...
  - 28th Cavalry Regiment
    28th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
    The 28th Cavalry Regiment was a short-lived African-American unit of the United States Army. The 28th Cavalry was the last horse-mounted cavalry regiment formed by the U.S. Army...
Air Corps Units
- 332d Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airmen
  Tuskegee Airmen
  The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
  
  )
Non Divisional Units
- Infantry Units
  - 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion
- Cavalry/Armor Units
  - US Military Academy Cavalry Squadron
  - 5th Reconnaissance Squadron
    5th Reconnaissance Squadron
    The 5th Reconnaissance Squadron is part of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California but is geographically separated.-Mission:The 5th Reconnaissance Squadron conducts operations from Osan Air Base, South Korea...
  - 758th Tank Battalion
    758th Tank Battalion (United States)
    The 758th Tank Battalion was a tank battalion of the United States Army that served during World War II. The first armored unit to consist of African-American soldiers, the 758th was formed in 1941 and served in Italy.-History:...
  - 761st Tank Battalion
  - 784th Tank Battalion
- Field Artillery Units
  - 46th Field Artillery Brigade.
  - 184th Field Artillery Regiment, Illinois National Guard.
  - 333rd Field Artillery Regiment
    333rd Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
    The 333rd Field Artillery Regiment is an Field Artillery regiment of the United States Army.-Distinctive Unit Insignia:* DescriptionA Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules, three pallets Or, each charged with a like number of...
    
    .
  - 349th Field Artillery Regiment
  - 350th Field Artillery Regiment
  - 351st Field Artillery Regiment
  - 353rd Field Artillery Regiment
  - 578th Field Artillery Regiment

- - 333rd Field Artillery Battalion
  - 349th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 350th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 351st Field Artillery Battalion
  - 353rd Field Artillery Battalion
  - 578th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 593rd Field Artillery Battalion
  - 594th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 595th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 596th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 597th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 598th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 599th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 600th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 686th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 777th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 795th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 930th Field Artillery Battalion, Illinois National Guard
  - 931st Field Artillery Battalion, Illinois National Guard
  - 969th Field Artillery Battalion
  - 971st Field Artillery Battalion
  - 973rd Field Artillery Battalion
  - 993rd Field Artillery Battalion
  - 999th Field Artillery Battlaion

- Tank Destroyer Units
  - 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion
    614th Tank Destroyer Battalion
    The 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War. The 3rd Platoon, Company C, of the 614th was the first black unit to receive a Distinguished Unit Citation.-Early service:...
  - 646th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 649th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 659th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 669th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 679th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 795th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion
    827th Tank Destroyer Battalion
    The 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War. It was activated in April 1942 as a segregated African American unit, deploying to Europe at the end of 1944 attached to 12th Armored Division. It saw action during...
  - 828th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 829th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  - 846th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Two segregated units were organized by the United States Marine Corps:

51st Defense Battalion
Marine defense battalions
Marine defense battalions were United States Marine Corps battalions charged with coastal defense of various naval bases in the Pacific during World War II...
52nd Defense Battalion
Marine defense battalions
Marine defense battalions were United States Marine Corps battalions charged with coastal defense of various naval bases in the Pacific during World War II...

Medal of Honor recipients

On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, in a White House ceremony, awarded the nation's highest military honor—the Medal of Honor—to seven African-American servicemen who had served in World War II.

The only living recipient was:

First Lieutenant Vernon Baker
Vernon Baker
Vernon Joseph Baker was a United States Army officer who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II...

.

The posthumous recipients were:

Major Charles L. Thomas
Charles L. Thomas
Major Charles Leroy Thomas was a United States Army officer who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions while a company commander during the capture of Climbach, France in 1944 — the second African American to be awarded one during World War II...
First Lieutenant John R. Fox
John R. Fox
John Robert Fox was killed in action when he deliberately called for artillery fire on his own position, after his position was overrun, in order to defeat a German attack in the vicinity of Sommocolonia, northern Italy during World War II...
Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers
Ruben Rivers
Ruben Rivers was a Staff Sergeant in the 761st Tank Battalion, black tank battalion which served with distinction in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Sgt...
Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter, Jr.
Edward A. Carter, Jr.
Edward Allen Carter, Jr. was United States Army Staff Sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during March 1945 during World War II...
Private First Class Willy F. James, Jr.
Willy F. James, Jr.
Willy F. James, Jr. was a United States Army private first class who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during World War II...
Private George Watson
George Watson (U.S. Army)
George Watson was a private in the United States Army who was killed in action during World War II. He was one of seven African American soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor for their actions during World War II, and the only one of the seven to earn his medal while serving in the Pacific...

Blue discharges

African American troops faced discrimination in the form of the disproportionate issuance of blue discharge

Blue discharge

A blue discharge was a form of administrative military discharge formerly issued by the United States beginning in 1916. It was neither honorable nor dishonorable. The blue ticket became the discharge of choice for commanders seeking to remove homosexual service members from the ranks...

s. The blue discharge (also called a "blue ticket") was a form of administrative discharge created in 1916 to replace two previous discharge classifications, the administrative discharge without honor and the "unclassified" discharge. It was neither honorable nor dishonorable. Of the 48,603 blue discharges issued by the Army between December 1, 1941 and June 30, 1945, 10,806 were issued to African Americans. This accounts for 22.2% of all blue discharges, when African Americans made up just 6.5% of the Army in that time frame. Blue discharge recipients frequently faced difficulties obtaining employment and were routinely denied the benefits of the G. I. Bill by the Veterans Administration

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

(VA). In October 1945, Black-interest newspaper The Pittsburgh Courier launched a crusade against the discharge and its abuses. Calling the discharge "a vicious instrument that should not be perpetrated against the American Soldier", the Courier rebuked the Army for "allowing prejudiced officers to use it as a means of punishing Negro soldiers who do not like specifically unbearable conditions". The Courier specifically noted the discrimination faced by homosexuals, another group disproportionately discharged with blue tickets, calling them "'unfortunates' of the Nation...being preyed upon by the blue discharge" and demanded to know "why the Army chooses to penalize these 'unfortunates' who seem most in need of Army benefits and the opportunity to become better citizens under the educational benefits of the GI Bill of Rights". The Courier printed instructions on how to appeal a blue discharge and warned its readers not to quickly accept a blue ticket out of the service because of the negative effect it would likely have on their lives.

The House Committee on Military Affairs

United States House Committee on Armed Services

thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...

held hearings in response to the press crusade, issuing a report in 1946 that sharply criticized its use and the VA for discriminating against blue discharge holders. Congress discontinued the blue discharge in 1947, but the VA continued its practice of denying G. I. Bill benefits to blue-tickets.

Integration of the armed forces

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

signed Executive Order 9981

Executive Order 9981

integrating the military and mandating equality of treatment and opportunity. It also made it illegal, per military law, to make a racist

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

remark. Desegregation of the military was not complete for several years, and all-black Army units persisted well into the Korean War

Korean War

. The last all-black unit wasn't disbanded until 1954.

In 1950, Lieutenant Leon Gilbert

Leon Gilbert

Leon Aaron Gilbert, Jr. , of York, Pennsylvania was a decorated World War II combat veteran and a lieutenant in the all-Negro 24th U. S. Infantry Regiment that fought in the Korean War...

of the still-segregated 24th Infantry Regiment

24th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and again from 1995 until 2006. The regiment is notable for having a colorfully checkered history, with a record of mostly meritorious service and valorous combat performance interspersed with episodes of...

was court martialed and sentenced to death for refusing to obey the orders of a white officer while serving in the Korean War. Gilbert maintained that the orders would have meant certain death for himself and the men in his command. The case led to worldwide protests and increased attention to segregation and racism in the U.S. military. Gilbert's sentence was commuted to twenty and later seventeen years of imprisonment; he served five years and was released.

The integration commanded by Truman's 1948 Executive Order extended to schools and neighborhoods as well as military units. Fifteen years after the Executive Order, Secretary of Defense

United States Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...

Robert McNamara

Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...

issued Department of Defense Directive 5120.36

Directive 5120.36

Department of Defense Directive 5120.36 was issued in July 1963 by Robert S. McNamara, then Secretary of Defense of the United States. This directive dealt directly with the issue of racism in areas surrounding military communities. The directive declared:...

. "Every military commander", the Directive mandates, "has the responsibility to oppose discriminatory practices affecting his men and their dependents and to foster equal opportunity for them, not only in areas under his immediate control, but also in nearby communities where they may gather in off-duty hours." While the directive was issued in 1963, it was not until 1967 that the first non-military establishment was declared off-limits. In 1970 the requirement that commanding officers first obtain permission from the Secretary of Defense was lifted, and areas were allowed to be declared housing areas off limits to military personnel by their commanding officer.

Korean War

Jesse L. Brown

Jesse LeRoy Brown was the first African American naval aviator in the United States Navy, and the first naval officer killed in the Korean War....

became the U.S. Navy's first black aviator in October 1948. He was killed when his plane was shot down during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir

Battle of Chosin Reservoir

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign ,Official Chinese sources refer to this battle as the Second Phase Campaign Eastern Sector . The Western Sector is the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. was a decisive battle in the Korean War...

in North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

. He was unable to eject from his crippled F4U Corsair

F4U Corsair

The Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and...

and crash-landed successfully. His injuries and damage to his aircraft prevented him from leaving the plane. A white squadron mate, Thomas Hudner, crash-landed his F4U Corsair

F4U Corsair

near Brown and attempted to extricate Brown but could not and Brown died of his injuries. Hudner was awarded the Medal of Honor for his efforts. The U.S. Navy honored Jesse Brown by naming an escort ship after him—the U.S.S. Jesse L. Brown

USS Jesse L. Brown (FF-1089)

USS Jesse L. Brown was a of the US Navy. She was named for Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American naval aviator in the US Navy. Mrs. Gilbert W. Thorne, Ship's Sponsor. This ship was eventually decommissioned and sold to the Egyptian Navy and was renamed Damiyat ...

.

Two enlisted men from the 24th Infantry Regiment

24th Infantry Regiment (United States)

(still a segregated unit), Cornelius H. Charlton

Cornelius H. Charlton

Cornelius H. Charlton was a United States Army soldier and a posthumous recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Korean War.-Biography:...

and William Thompson

William Thompson (Medal of Honor, 1950)

William Henry Thompson was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Korean War....

, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for actions during the war.

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War saw many great accomplishments by many African Americans, including twenty who received the Medal of Honor for their actions. African Americans during the conflict suffered casualty rates slightly higher than their percentage of the total population.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

presented the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Specialist Five

Specialist (rank)

Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...

Lawrence Joel

Lawrence Joel was a United States Army Sergeant First Class who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars...

, for a "very special kind of courage—the unarmed heroism of compassion and service to others." Joel was the first living African American to receive the Medal of Honor since the Mexican–American War. He was a medic who in 1965 saved the lives of U.S. troops under ambush in Vietnam and defied direct orders to stay to the ground, walking through Viet Cong gunfire and tending to the troops despite being shot twice himself. The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...

is dedicated to his honor.

On August 21, 1968, with the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor, U.S. Marine James Anderson, Jr.

James Anderson, Jr.

Private First Class James Anderson, Jr was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism while serving in Vietnam in February 1967. When his Medal of Honor was awarded on August 21, 1968, he became the first African-American U.S...

became the first African-American U.S. Marine recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life.

On December 10, 1968, U.S. Army Captain Riley Leroy Pitts became the first African American commissioned officer to be awarded the Medal of Honor. His medal was presented posthumously to his wife, Mrs. Eula Pitts, by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Post-Vietnam to present day

In 1989, President George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

appointed Army General Colin Powell

Colin Powell

Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...

to the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...

, making Powell the highest ranking officer in the United States military. Powell was the first, and is so far the only, African American to hold that position. The Chairman serves as the chief military adviser to the President and the Secretary of Defense

United States Secretary of Defense

. During his tenure Powell oversaw the 1989 United States invasion of Panama

United States invasion of Panama

The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...

to oust General Manuel Noriega

Manuel Noriega

Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.The 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on...

and the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War

Gulf War

against Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. General Powell's four-year term as Chairman ended in 1993.

General William E. "Kip" Ward

William E. Ward

William E. "Kip" Ward , is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as Commander, U.S. Africa Command from October 1, 2007 to March 8, 2011. He was the first officer to hold this position. General Ward previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command. General Ward...

was officially nominated as the first commander of the new United States Africa Command

United States Africa Command

The United States Africa Command is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States Armed Forces, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U.S. military operations and military relations with 53 African nations – an area of responsibility covering all...

on July 10, 2007 and assumed command on October 1, 2007.

The current Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is a unique non-commissioned rank and billet in the United States Marine Corps....

, Carlton W. Kent

Carlton W. Kent

Sergeant Major Carlton Wayne Kent was the 16th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, assuming the post on April 25, 2007. He succeeded John L. Estrada, who had been serving in that capacity since June 2003. He was replaced by Micheal Barrett on June 9, 2011.-Biography:Carlton Kent was born in...

, is African American; as were the previous two before him.

The American military and Affirmative Action

Since the end of military segregation and the creation of an all-volunteer army, the American military has seen the representation of African Americans in its ranks rise precipitously.