During World War II, African American and white soldiers who were bonded on the battlefield were divided at home. The US 12th Armored Division was one of only ten US divisions during World War II that had integrated combat companies.
Despite the overarching segregation in the military at the time, more than one million African Americans fought for the US Armed Forces on the homefront, in Europe, and in the Pacific.
After battling for freedom and defending democracy worldwide, African American soldiers returned home after the war only to find themselves faced with the existing prejudice and “Jim Crow” laws, which imposed “separate, but equal” segregation.
During World War II, African American and white soldiers who were bonded on the battlefield were divided at home. The US 12th Armored Division was one of only ten US divisions during World War II that had integrated combat companies.
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William A. Scott, III, shortly after his induction at Fort Benning, Georgia. Scott was drafted in 1943 and joined the 183rd Combat Battalion. He was a photographer for the unit. He was at Buchenwald when it was liberated by American forces.
African American soldier Warren Capers was recommended for a Silver Star for his actions during the Allied invasion of France. He and his medical detachment aided more than 330 soldiers. France, August 18, 1944.
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American troops, including African American soldiers from the Headquarters and Service Company of the 183rd Engineer Combat Battalion, 8th Corps, US 3rd Army, view corpses stacked behind the crematorium during an inspection tour of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Among those pictured is Leon Bass (the soldier third from left). Buchenwald, Germany, April 17, 1945.
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