Central Illinois World War II Stories - Interview Excerpt: Joseph Smith of Champaign
Channel: Illinois Public Media
Date: 2013-06-08

Joseph Smith enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on June 11, 1943.  Smith selected the Marine Corps after a USMC recruiter convinced him that he would be treated just the same as white recruits and could expect a job other than cook.  While Smith would eventually serve in the Okinawa Campaign as a truck driver, he quickly learned during his trip to boot camp that institutional racism was alive and well in the Armed Forces.