Proud Warriors Volume 6

ALEXANDER M. BIELAKOWSKI is a former U.S. Army Reserve officer and the author of From Horses to Horsepower: The Mechanization and Demise of the U.S. Cavalry, 1916-1950; African American Troops in World War II; and U.S. Cavalryman 1891-1920. He is a professor of history at the University of Houston-Downtown.

"[T]he book is the first effort to bring together in one volume the history of the disparate units manned by African American soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. The strength of this book is the author's exhaustive identification and examination of the many all-Black units across all services."--Southwestern Historical Quarterly "Bielakowski's evidence illuminates the valor and prowess these troops displayed despite the inherently racist military institutions they fought under. . . . Bielakowski blends traditional military history, especially unit history, with a war and society approach that examines the experiences of African American units in combat, reflects on how these endeavors influenced the desegregation of the U.S. military, and considers why the results reverberated far beyond the battlefield in the Civil Rights Movement. The result is a fine synthesis combined with meticulous archival research. . . . This superb book is precise, articulate, and substantial. . . . Proud Warriors should be required reading for anyone with an interest in World War II and African American military history and will likely become the prevailing volume on this topic for quite some time."--Journal of Military History "What sets this book apart from others is the focus on combat units, and not just a general description of the experiences. . . . For the lay reader, the book is the beginning of a learning journey, should they be so inclined to take it."--StrategyPage "What readers will find most interesting about Proud Warriors are the profound questions it raises about how and when notions of race, nation and valor frequently blurred on the battlefield. Often, Black soldiers, airmen and sailors found themselves facing seemingly impossible combat conditions that not only tested their physical well-being, but also provoked public discussions about freedom and equality both at home and abroad. And in those instances, Black soldiers articulated their ideas about American democracy through their acts of bravery during moments of intense fighting."--ARMY Magazine Proud Warriors takes account of every possible relevant secondary source and also reflects research in most of the relevant archives. Its engaging style will make it an attractive book for experts, lay readers, and college students; I expect it will be adopted in World War II history courses and War and Society courses."--Todd Moye, author of Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II "Proud Warriors is of great significance to the researcher and writer of African American military history. It is the book you want on the shelf to look at as a starting point and go back to for information on specific units or general cohorts."--Brian G. Shellum, author of Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment and African American Officers in Liberia "Not since Ulysses Lee's classic, The Employment of Negro Troops, has a historian successfully undertaken the daunting task of covering the activities of African American combat units during World War II in one volume. Bielakowski's Proud Warriors not only charts the triumphs and tribulations of these men, how their service ultimately aided Harry S. Truman's efforts to racially integrate the American Armed Forces after the war, but it also offers a well-written primer for those who seek to expand on the expertise on display here. I highly recommend it for casual readers and professional historians alike."--Geoffrey W. Jensen, series editor, The American Military and Society, and the editor of Beyond the Quagmire: New Interpretations of the Vietnam War and The Routledge Handbook of the History of Race and the American Military "Alexander Bielakowski's Proud Warriors fills an important niche in the scholarly literature regarding African Americans in World War II. While honoring the heroism of the Black service personnel, and without defaming them, Bielakowski also exposes false claims that have clouded the historical record. The book is also refreshing because instead of focusing only on heroic individuals, as many other books have done, Bielakowski examines the various organizations in which they served, and their teamwork, which was one of the essential ingredients of Allied victory. The book should prove to be a valuable reference work for years to come."--Daniel Haulman, Ph.D., retired USAF historian