World War II through the eyes of a black soldier

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a report about the experience of black soldiers during World War II.

Among them were many of the 1 million black Americans who served during the war, including Frank James, 83, of Shaker Heights. The day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, James put a planned music career on hold, kissed his wife goodbye and left a job at an Indianapolis hospital to enlist in the Army. “There were loads of black men who wanted to fight,” James said. Two problems. “There were white people who actually thought blacks couldn’t fight, even though they’d been fighting all their lives. Just look at the Zulus,” he said. “So a lot of blacks just said OK, if that’s the way they want it, you can’t do nothing against the government.” link

Click the image above to play a short video interview with a surviving soldier.