The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1947-11-22
*44 go a&

$50 #ss s+s
COLONEL NED GOURDIN,
lformer commander of the 372nd
Infantry, is the popular COM
mander Of the 272nd New Eng
land los Mbile Field Artillery
Battalion which drills Wednes-
days and Fridays at the Boston
South Armory. GOV. BRAD
FORD has clarified the fact that
this unit and all others here are
open to all races.
ss% 49, see
THE T.. S. ARMY is placing
colored troops in more and more
SKILLED and TECHNICAL de-
partments. The GRIND Artillery
is 9 skilled technical unit. Ar
thur Furr in his world war II
military history. 'Democracy's
Negroes" reveals that up to June
1914, there were MORE colored
artillery men and air1nen than
infantIymen in the U. S. Army
as well as other speciality
equipped troops.
&S@ &&t $40
IN EUROPE the colored artiI-
lery units, as well as tank units,
were mixed with white troops in
some Of the most gallant actions
of the war. For example, the Sc
pia 777th Field Artillery was at
tached to the 9th Army; the
999th Field Artillery, the 578th,
the 333rd and the 969th we're
among other sepia artillery bat
talions bracketed with white.
see s%a t&s
THE BREAK THROUGH in
the Ardennes by the Germans
placed the 101st Airbourne Divi-
sin in jeopardy and here Gen.
McAuliffe put in a call for the
969th artillery gunners who put
up a magnificent defense. Both
the 101st and 969th received the
PRESIDENTIAL Distinguished
Unit Citation. Other Tan Yank
artillery units were brilliant in
action.
ace s&s ssa
THE sIEGFRIED LINE Of
Tense by American troops fea-
tured sepia artjIlerymen with
the 333rd Regiment, and one
Sgt. Joe Hamilton won the Sill
yer Star for silencing four Ger
man machine guns single-hand-
ed. Many so-calied separate"
tank and gun battallnS were
quietly attached to white units
unknown to the general public
during the war.
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MIXED TROOPS trend is def
initely on the way. The other
day a Tan Yank was almost
begged to join a local Yankee
Division outfit. OF course it all
won't be easy. However, colored
divisions seem on the way out.
Mr.. FUR tells us that colored ri
{ file infantrymen served with the
First, Second, Eighth, Ninth,
Goth, 18th, 99th, and 1O4th white
infantry divisions.
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THE YANKEE DIVISION en-
joyed the heroic support Of the
famous 761st colored Tank Bat
talon which fought along with
the 2eth, the list, e7th, 10th,
and 103rd Divisions as well as
the 18th Airbourne in the cru
cial Battle o fthe Bulge. Nearly
so percent OF the colored tank
men were cited for bravery.
other Tan Yank battalions with
white units included the 784th,
and the 614th. (Read Mr.. Furr's
new history)
asA s&% &as
IT WOULD SEEM that so
much superior success was evil
dent from the use of mixed
units in world war II that this
will oe the future pattern re-
sulting in a more democratic ar
rangement. The mixing of COM
bat teams has the same effect as
a good ALL-AMERICAN football
team, composed Of all national
tiles.
see sSs go
THE ARTILLERY HISTORY
of colored men in the Bay State
now comes in for considerabl in
terest. Undoubtedly there were
some colored artillerymen who
manned the cannons in TITS and
1861. The "Black Phalanx" his
tory only lists the 54th, 55th in
fantry and 5th cavalry. L Com
pany was infantry, also the
372nd. The 272nd seems to be the
first "big gun" unit here, How
ever some may argue the point.
*+% $40 49,
GOV. BRADFORD in his Nov.
Is, 1947 statement to John T.
Lane of the NAACP has cleared
!