The African American Soldier

April 28, 1997
This 10th military history by retired army officer Lanning (The Military 100, etc.) offers a basic introduction to the legacy of black men and women in our nation's armed forces from the American Revolution through the Persian Gulf. Along the way, Lanning introduces a variety of black heroes--men such as Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts, who saved his unit's flags after the failed assault on Fort Wagner during the Civil War (popularized in the movie Glory) and Dorie Miller, a crewman on the USS West Virginia who saved the life of his captain and shot down two Japanese planes during the raid on Pearl Harbor. Lanning also chronicles the extreme prejudice that black soldiers encountered for much of the past 200-plus years--separate (and worse) facilities, community hatred, lynchings, lack of promotions to better duty slots and more. He covers the 1906 Brownsville racial clash--sparked by the open hostility of white Texans against black soldiers, but resulting in the dishonorable discharges of 167 black soldiers--as well as the views of Generals George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur, both of whom looked down on black troops. Ultimately, blacks achieved integration into the American military earlier than into most of the country's institutions. In his illuminating and much-needed history, Lanning graphically depicts the hard struggle toward that goal, and beyond it. Illustrations not seen by PW.