Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1945-06-30
Great Majority
Left Behind To
Be Service Units
Figure Kept At
Proportionate
Number Overseas
R7 ALLAN MORRISON


(Stars and Stripes Staff Writer)
Negro. troops will comprise 1O.4
percent of the u. S. Army OF &C.
cupation in Germany, it was learn
ed from ETOUSA Headquarters
last week.
The great majority of these troops
will be members of service units
performing their primary mission"
it was revealed, though it has not
yet been determined which Negro
units will remain as occupation
forces.
This will be decided when the
War Department instructs this
theater of the types of units 1t de-
sires to retain in Europe.
STANDARD FIGURE
The 1O.4 percentage is the stand
ard one, set by Congress, and used
by the War Department in COM
putting the proportions of Negroes
in the U. S. Army. The proportion
is not standard for all theaters,
however.
Since the AEF arrived in the
ETO the proportion of Negro troops
of total U. S. forces averaged 8.4
percent and that percentage has
been maintained, with small fluc-
tuation, to the present time.
AS of May Is, there were in the
ETO 259,173 Negro troops of a
grand total of 1882, AZ U. S. per-
sonnet here at that time.
This figure was broken down as
follows:
Field Forces ............ 84,68l
USSTAF ............... 1l,oot
Com u NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. l0o,oou
incorporating .......... 7,0a5
incorporating includes patients,
PWs and casuals while field forces
includes Army Groups, armies
ETOUSA and SHEAF Hq. person
mel.
MORE IN ITALY
Until recently, approximately 25
percent of Com z troop were Ne
gro, while field forces were made
up of four percent Negro personnel.
The figures do not include the
Mediterranean Theater where there
was a higher percentage of Negro
combat troops, including one In
fantry Division. the 92nd.
Under redeployment plans, the
Army intends that 10.4 percent of
all U. S. personnel returned to the
U. S. for rehabilitation shall be
Negro troops.
eve are striving to send a Negro
total of 1914 percent of all troops
returned to the States for eventual
discharge" stated Col. C. w. Powell
head of Troop Division, Redeploy-
ment Branch of CD at ETOUA. I"
eve will not necessarily reach this
figure but we are aiming at it,"
LANDED ON D-DAY
Figures obtained from the AG
section, ETOUSA revealed that the
increase of Negro troops in this
theater roughly correspondent with
the increase of all u. S. forces in
Europe.
Thus, on May 81, 1914, one week
before the invasion of Europe
there were 126,877 Negro soldiers in
the theater, divided as follows:
Field Forces, 21,156; USSTAF,
10,062; Com z, 95,659.
Negro units participated in the
Normandy landings on June g.
These included the 32Oth Anti-air-
craft Barrage Balloon Bn., 49Oth
Port Bn., 494th Port Bn., 582nd
Engineer Dump Truck Co., 3683rd
ON Truck Co., and a number of
others.
Nineteen other Negro combat
units saw service in Europe during
the campaign: the 333rd Fla Bn.,
350th Fla Bn., 351st Fla Bn. fifth
Fla Bn., 686th Fa Bn, 969th Fla Bn
999th FA Bn., 452nd AAA Bn.,
761st Tank Bn., 784th Tank Bn.,
614th Tank Destroyer Bn., 827th
Tank Destroyer Bn., 183rd, 184th,
1696th, 1697th, 1698th and 1699th
Engr. Combat Bins.
Two Negro units received Presi-
dental Unit Citations. The 969th
Fla Bn. was cited for it's action in
Bastogne, on December 18th-27th.
when it fired in support of the cut
off 101st Airborne Division. The
third platoon of &C" Co. of the
6l4th Tank Destroyer Bn. received
the citation for outstanding per-
forn1ance of duty in action against
the enemy" at Climbach, France.
last December IA.