Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1953-11-06


with q distinguished record. and
the 30oth formerly the 18th ~
~ won the Croix De oueFEs a.
units. the latter won I77 indivld-
ual decorations and suffered LOO
battle Casualties. Another, the
372nd, received the honor Of hAv.
ing the French government erect
q monument 10 It's vaIor.
However. the Army failed 10 de-
vel0p anywhere nnar the fun
combat potential Of ia Negro
troops In the First World War.
White officers who had served
with Negro units were regarded
a. "unfortunatsT'; thslr expert.
snee a. an ordeal One such. com
mAnder Of a Negro field artillery
battalloni which never went over.
seasD. said his greatest trouble
was preventing his enlisted men.
fresh from the deep South. where
thgy had never been permitted
any responsibility, from selling all
movable property 20 nearby Gus.
ually whltsl civilians for liquor
and ready cash.
solder Jokes
A bumper crop Of jokes shout
eolorsd soldiers was harvested.
Typical was the one about the
Negro private who greeted q cap
tain with "IIowdy. boas." After
receiving n TRADE on aaIuting, the
colored private scratched his head
and finally spoke, ''LAwsy, boss,
II And thought you was Ewins
Eit 20 mad about u. An wouldn't
Of spoke 10 you a.taii."
Jokes like these. however apro-
cTyphal, didn't improve the Ne
Rro's status In the military e.
tabllAhmsnt. Instead. they helped
fix damaging pictures In minds
Of other servicemen. The thumb
nall sketch Of the Negro service
men between wars ran something
like this; lacking In group cour-
age. lli-dIsciplined. need white Of.
ficers. and can't use technical
equipment Little wonder the Me-
Gro's progress In the small econ
omy Squslched Regular Army was
at q standstiil for almost two de-
eadea.
the truth IL that during the
20'S and sos thu Negro had almost
no representation In the nations
armed forces. Although approx
mAlsly one out OF every ten per-
sons In the United States was .
Negro, the ratio Of Negro troops
strength was more like one out
Of every forty In the Army; Stili
less In the Navy and Marine
Corps,
In the doldrumn between two
World Wars. the four traditional
oolorsd regiments had remarkable
and sustained re-sniistmsnt rec
ords. Composed mainly Of 80
year men" their ranks offered
few openings for recruits Thus,
there was practically no nucleus
% trained and experienced Me-
gro troops around whom an 81.
panasd wartime organisation
could be built tho aituatiom IN the
Arrays civilian componants was
NJ better. Las than 600 Negroes
were accepted for citlnena mill
taFy training camps In 1893 49,
compared 10 some $4,000 whites
and this was the very year World
War II began on the plains Of
Poland.
During the thlrtlea . Negro
congressman began 10 appoint
men Of hla own race 10 the United
states Military Academy and In
VOked q storm IN the roekbound
school on he Hudson. The cadets
made Il doubly tough for thu col.
ored pioneers az Uncle Sans
school Tor generals. having for
gotten their predecessors of the
18th century, Every conceivable,
but legal pressure was applied 10
pull the rug from under eolorod
eadstA- One Of the first 10 come
through this harsh test was Ben.
Iamin Davis, Jr., no. - IN the
Class OF 1889. whose father re-
tired ~ = briEadisr general IN
World War II. When he graduated
the cadets took their hats of to .
colored second lieutenant now
colonel who had made the grade.
Davis won their esteem and made
u easier for other Negroes 10 sue
coed at tho Point. Their presence
there II taken for granted today.
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