ARCHIVE ARCHIVE_KWAME_NKRUMAH ARCHIVE_MEDGAR_EVERS ARCHIVE_VO CAROLE_JOHNSON DOREEN DOREEN_STEVENS DOREEN_STEVENS_READING_FROM_DIARY FLOYD_DADE FLOYD_DADE_TESTIMONY GHEE_BOWMAN JOHNNIE_STEVENS_TESTIMONY NARRATOR NEWSREEL_ARCHIVE PROFESSOR_LEAH_WRIGHT_RIGUEUR PROFESSOR_MARCUS_COX PROFESSOR_MATTHEW_DELMONT PROFESSOR_YOHURU_WILLIAMS SHAUNA_DADE_SIAH SOLDIE SOLDIER STEVE_WOODSON WAYNE_ROBINSON YVONNE_LATTY SOLDIE Enemy tank inbound. SOLDIER Oh! Argh. NARRATOR These are the men of the 761st tank battalion. SOLDIER Fire! NARRATOR They call themselves the Black Panthers. NARRATOR And they’re the first black armored unit fighting in a racially segregated U.S. Army. NARRATOR In the bloodiest American battle of World War 2. SOLDIER Aargh! SOLDIER Aim low, aim low, low, low. NARRATOR Their actions will be pivotal to the liberation of Europe. NARRATOR And victory over Nazi Germany. SOLDIER Fire! NARRATOR More than 8 million people of color served with the Allies during the Second World War. SOLDIER Fire! PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Troops from India, African Americans, Asians. NARRATOR My grandfather was one of these men. NARRATOR A soldier of color whose role in the war has never been honored. GHEE BOWMAN These soldiers have really, genuinely been hidden from history. NARRATOR Now, by tracking down their descendants and unearthing forgotten archive, we’re going to restore these unsung heroes to their rightful place. DOREEN STEVENS They weren’t supposed to write things that were going down when they were in service. But he did it anyway. He brought us proof of what actually happened. NARRATOR This series reevaluates four of the greatest battles of World War Two, and asks, who were these men? STEVE WOODSON These were guys that went above and beyond the call of duty. NARRATOR What was their role in the most significant war of modern times? PROF. YVONNE LATTY Their stories deserve to be elevated and not erased. NARRATOR And how do their experiences shape our modern world? NARRATOR The fall of 1944 sees thousands of American service men and women on the beaches of Normandy. Their mission is the liberation of France. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS By October of 1944, the Allies believe that the Axis powers, and specifically Germany, is on its heels. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT The Allies are starting to get the upper hand in the war. They're pushing aggressively across France and forcing the Germans to take strategic retreating positions. So on the eastern front, the Soviet Union is pushing them from the opposite direction. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT Germany is trying to fight two fronts at the same time. NARRATOR Leading the advance is three-star General, George S. Patton, Commander of the Third Army, a huge, mechanized military force. NARRATOR He arrives with a phenomenal weapon. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Over the course of the war, tanks are going to be the decisive factor in battle after battle. This technology will help turn the tide in favor of the Allies. WAYNE ROBINSON When compared to German tanks, the Sherman tank was a versatile tank that had good mobility. WAYNE ROBINSON A tank battalion offers protection to infantry. They were an effective fighting machine with high velocity main guns designed for mowing down the enemy. NARRATOR More than 40 tank units assemble at Normandy. Among them is the first Black tank battalion, the 761st. Made up of over 50 tanks and around 700 men. NARRATOR Some of these were captured in iconic photos, like these. But you’ll barely find any film of them in action because attention was focused elsewhere. NARRATOR Truth is the real story of this battalion wasn’t fully acknowledged for decades. NARRATOR But now, through war diaries and rare interviews, we can tell the stories of three members of the 761st. Their heroism plays a vital role in securing victory for the Allies. NARRATOR Here’s Johnnie Stevens, platoon sergeant. NARRATOR He’s a rule-breaking adrenalin junkie from Georgia, a born leader who’s in charge of his tank. NARRATOR And there’s draftee Floyd Dade. Something of a reluctant hero but serious about his duty. As a Loader, he’s trained to keep his tank’s gun supplied with ammunition. NARRATOR Finally, we’ve got the baby of the group. 16-year-old New Yorker, E.G. McConnell. NARRATOR He’s a Gunner and an absolute crack shot. NARRATOR We’ll hear E.G. himself, recorded almost 50 years after the war. He recalls what drove him to enlist. E.G. MCCONNELL TESTIMONY Man, I just wanted to volunteer for the tanks. I just felt it was a patriotic duty. That’s why I wanted to go in, I wanted a piece of action. CAROLE JOHNSON My father was extremely proud to have served in the United States Army. CAROLE JOHNSON Usually, within two minutes of meeting him, he would mention the word, I'm a veteran. CAROLE JOHNSON He took some teasing from the guys because he was the youngest. They nicknamed him “Young Blood.” He was only 16 years old. ARCHIVE VO Making all the more necessary, the intensive planning of the day. WAYNE ROBINSON McConnell said that before he enlisted, he would go to the movies with his friends. There would be tanks rampaging across the maneuver fields. ARCHIVE VO Rolling fortresses geared to demolish anything in their path. WAYNE ROBINSON When he and his friends saw that they really liked the idea that this was gonna be a war on wheels and tracks. CAROLE JOHNSON He was really pumped up and excited to get into action. He convinced his mother, ‘please, please, please, sign the papers. I want to go and fight for our country.’ WAYNE ROBINSON Being a Black soldier during World War Two was one of the worst things that could happen to you, because you were going to wind up at a Southern training facility. NARRATOR Like many Black servicemen trained under segregation, the presence of the 761st wasn’t widely welcomed. WAYNE ROBINSON They trained for two years, a very long time, compared to white units. It was longer because the Army didn't seem to know what to do with this Black Tank Battalion. Some people thought the 761st Tank Battalion would be a demonstration battalion. In other words they would never see combat. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT The United States is reluctant to deploy Black troops to the European theater. They didn't want to see Black Americans have that same access to heroism as white soldiers, have that same access to the medals that could be earned in combat. NARRATOR It must have taken a lot of mental strength for the 761st to cope with the prejudice they faced. But they turned it to their advantage. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS They know these tanks intimately, every nook and cranny. They can break them down and they're able to get them to run even in the darkest night. WAYNE ROBINSON By the time they were committed to combat, the tankers were razor sharp. NARRATOR After landing in Normandy, our three heroes E.G. McConnell, Johnnie Stevens and Floyd Dade are in a column of over 50 tanks speeding through eastern France. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS They have no time to rest. They have to sprint to catch up 400 miles to meet up with Patton and the Third Army. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS General Patton finds himself desperately in need of tankers in order to make this last push, this last offensive against the Nazis. PROFESSOR MARCUS COX You have these small French towns, where you have the allies and the Germans who are fighting from town to town. It's a slow, very bloody, difficult fighting. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The 761st is going to have to deal with the massive fortifications and obstacles and obstructions that the enemy has put in place to maintain its position. And they will find that this is going to be a very deadly and costly operation. NARRATOR Platoon Sergeant, Johnnie Stevens is in one of the tanks, dashing to link up with Patton’s Third Army. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The 761st is traveling both day and night. But it's here that that grueling training regimen that they had first at Camp Claiborne will kick in. They're ready for this and they can meet the challenge. NARRATOR Like every man in the 761st, this will be Johnnie’s first experience of war. But if he has any nerves, you wouldn’t know it. NARRATOR Here’s Johnnie now, from a rare museum recording made almost 60 years after the war. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY They call me a maverick. You see, my job was chasing Germans. DOREEN STEVENS My father wasn't scared of anything. He was a hero to me my whole entire life. I would wait for him every day to come home from work. DOREEN STEVENS He's a very strong man. I, I consider him, like, kind of like an oxymoron, you know, like a jumbo shrimp. How is that possible? A hard man, but a soft, good, kind man. DOREEN STEVENS I've never seen him be afraid. I've never seen him back down from anything or anybody. WAYNE ROBINSON Johnnie Stevens was our Humphrey Bogart. Tough guy, ready to fight. If you ever seen the movie Sahara, where Humphrey Bogart plays a tank commander. Well, Johnnie Stevens was the real thing. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY See, you had three ways of doing things. You had the right way, the Army way and the Johnnie Stevens way. NARRATOR True to form, Johnnie turns a blind eye to Army regulations and writes a personal diary. Now Doreen keeps it under lock and key, and this is the first time its contents have been shared. DOREEN STEVENS They weren’t supposed to write things down. But he did it anyway. He brought us proof of what actually happened and knowing I’m able to sit here and hold this diary, couldn’t ask for more than that. NARRATOR Official war records fail to capture the 761st’s personal battle experiences. Johnnie Stevens’ diary gives us a unique day by day account. DOREEN STEVENS November 5th, 1944. We’re on a hill outside of this village but, we’re treated better here than back home. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR The majority of those Black troops have never been abroad before. They've never left the country. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR When they end up in Europe, the experience that they have is both bewildering and illuminating. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY In Europe, I didn’t find any discrimination. You could go anywhere you wanted to. Do anything you wanna do. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR They're welcomed into homes. They have the experience of being treated like human beings. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT They described feeling like they could breathe for the first time. They were away from the virulent racism in the United States that they didn't feel like they're being treated as second class citizens. NARRATOR The irony though is that they’re still serving in a segregated Army, and they’ll still be treated as second class citizens by many of the men they’ve been sent to protect. NARRATOR 23 days after landing in Normandy, Johnnie Stevens and the rest of the 761st reach the Third Army camps. NARRATOR Here, they’re presented to none other than Allied commander, General George S. Patton. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Patton is flamboyant, colorful, over-the-top. Someone who looms large in the American imagination, not only for his military prowess, but because of his bombast and his ability to get the most out of his men. NARRATOR Now General Patton’s a controversial character and he certainly leaves an impression on young E.G. McConnell. E.G. MCCONNELL TESTIMONY We heard that General Patton was coming down to greet us into his army. As we were called to attention he looked me straight in the eye, with gray eyes and he said, “I sent for this unit because I heard you were good. I want you to go up there and kill them goddamn Krauts. Shoot up every goddamn thing you see. This is war.” NARRATOR But as it turns out, Patton was merely masking an ingrained racism. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT In letters to his wife, he expressed a real concern and lack of belief that black troops could take on these combat roles. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS He did not believe that the Black tankers would be able to handle the sophistication associated with the machinery of war. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Excerpt from Patton's 1947 memoir, ‘War as I Knew It’, on the 761st all-Black Tank Battalion. "They gave a very good first impression. But I have no faith in the inherent fighting ability of the race." PROFESSOR MARCUS COX His viewpoint, of African Americans fighting in the military, were reflective of reports based on negative stereotypes. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT There’s an incredibly racist and disturbing document, the 1925 Army War College report, called the Use of Negro Manpower in War. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT It made outrageous claims. It said, the Black soldier is mentally inferior to the white man. The cranial cavity of the Negro is smaller than the white. An opinion held in common with practically all officers, is that the Negro is a rank coward in the dark. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT This isn't just the isolated beliefs of a handful of individuals, this was official army doctrine. This is what they taught at West Point. That’s what Black troops were up against. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY They said we couldn't use tanks. We weren't qualified. We had to prove to the world that we could do anything that anybody else could do. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS All the men who ultimately would assume high command in the Second World War Dwight David Eisenhower, General Patton. They're all going to be touched by the prejudice that exists in that report. NARRATOR I’ll say one thing for him though, Patton’s a pragmatist and in desperate need of tank support, he calls the 761st forward to face their first action. NARRATOR So, here’s the situation, leaving the safety of the allied held area, the 761st must now push further east towards the German border. Vic-Sur-Seille is the first in a cluster of settlements they are tasked with liberating. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS In this campaign they'll be opposed by the Nazi's 11th Panzer division. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS This is going to be the first test of the 761st. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The Germans have been able to really create massive fortifications that the army has put in place for the defense of these towns. NARRATOR The 761st are at the leading edge of the advance. Johnnie Stevens will take his tank into action. NARRATOR And in the very first tank of the convoy is ammunition loader Floyd Dade. FLOYD DADE It’s the first day in battle. Everything tightens up. I guess you’re nervous you didn’t know what was going to happen. FLOYD DADE They were sitting there waiting for us. NARRATOR We know Johnnie Stevens and Floyd Dade take up positions near the town of Vic Sur Seille. NARRATOR At the same time, E.G. McConnell’s unit is tasked with taking the neighboring town of Bezange-La-Petite. WAYNE ROBINSON It was a pincer movement. Each part of that pincer, both parts that closed on these towns. But it's one thing to close in it's another thing to subdue the enemy troops within. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS They are literally within what is a fortified German kill zone. NARRATOR Survive this day, and there will be 183 more days of battle to come. DOREEN STEVENS, READING FROM JOHNNIE STEVENS’ DIARY November 8th, 1944. The jump-off is almost here. Only a couple of hours. I have smoked two packs of cigs. I am scared as hell but if God be with us, we might come out alive. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY Anybody that goes into combat and says he isn’t scared he's a liar. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS It was believed that as soon as the fighting started that Black men would turn tail and run in fear. In fact, on November 8th, 1944, it's the opposite. NARRATOR Military records show one of the 761st’s white commanders is shooked and retreats. Johnnie Stevens and Floyd Dade push ahead. SOLDIER Fire! NARRATOR The unit’s motto is ‘Come Out Fighting,’ and that’s exactly what they do. FLOYD DADE TESTIMONY We were just battling like hell. It was a a suicide mission but we just had to keep rolling all the time. SOLDIER Fire! WAYNE ROBINSON The Germans had anti-tank weapons, good observation posts and superior positions. But what the 761st was good at, they were good at finding these structures and blasting them. WAYNE ROBINSON And this is what they had trained them to do. To maneuver and keep a steady aim on a target. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS What the Germans also didn't account for were the human beings operating those tanks, those black tankers who were part of the 761st, who knew intimately the ins and outs of the tanks, but also have a desire to really prove themselves in battle. NARRATOR Throughout the day, U.S. forces launch a succession of thrusts at a well-concealed enemy. Dodging mines and a barrage of return fire, the 761st pick off the German’s positions one by one. SOLDIER Fire! NARRATOR Within hours, the 761st have driven the Germans out of the village. The Black Panthers have proven their point. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS At the end of the battle, there's no question. Not only is the 761st ready, they're going to be a tremendous asset to the Third Army. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Over the next few weeks, the 761st prove that November 8th is not an anomaly. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS They continue this amazing record, liberating town after town, being the decisive factor in battle after battle. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS And undermining the notion of their skeptics that they're unprepared for battle. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Now, they find themselves in demand from their white counterparts who desperately want the 761st attached to their unit because they've heard about the proficiency of these fearsome fighters. DOREEN STEVENS, READING JOHNNIE STEVENS’ DIARY Guys in the infantry told us they would rather have us with them than the guys in the white tankers. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR I think it's important that we actually see with the battalion, desegregation in real time. We see people who initially said these people are inferior, these people are less than, they're not deserving, saying things like, ‘Can I hide under your tank? Can we put them in a strategic position for this battle? Can we have them lead out this expedition?’ And so while it's certainly not perfect, it is evidence of the power of the war, to change ideas about race and ethnicity. NARRATOR But most folks back home don’t get to hear of the 761st triumphs, or of their acceptance by white infantry as brothers-in-arms because their stories don’t make it into the mainstream press. NARRATOR And if it wasn’t for some bold journalists, their history might have been erased altogether. NARRATOR Embedded with the 761st, a War Correspondent called Trezzvant Anderson does manage to file articles with the Black Press. While others report in a US Army publication. And for loader Floyd Dade, these fragments are a vital record to hand down to the next generation. SHAUNA DADE SIAH What I have in my hands here, is the Stars and Stripes newspaper article that had the title, ‘Negro Tankers Cut Path for Third Army’. And it has my father and one of his comrades. SHAUNA DADE SIAH One thing my dad said is like, this shows that what I'm telling is the truth. Black tankers were there. We were in Europe and this is, and this is proof of that. NEWSREEL ARCHIVE The German High Command has committed at least 20 full strength divisions to the winter defensive. PROFESSOR MARCUS COX December 1944, to the surprise of the Allies, Hitler decides that he wants to do one major large campaign. Over 200,000 men, over 1000 tanks attack the Allies in the West, and it creates this bulge, dividing the British and American armies. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS And it is this offensive at the Ardennes, which eventually becomes known as the Battle of the Bulge. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS If he can drive German forces to the town of Antwerp and cut off the supplies to the British, the French and the Americans, he can force a retreat. NARRATOR But General Patton has his own plan. A counterattack that will devastate the Germans. NARRATOR And he’s going to rely on the 761st, who he summons 130 miles (210 kilometers) to Belgium, to join the fight against the German advance. It will become a defining battle of World War 2. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Tillet is this kind of otherwise insignificant town. But for the purposes of the Battle of the Bulge, it is supremely important. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS It is 12 miles west of Bastogne. A critical part of the Nazi supply line. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The American military commanders believe that if the 761st is successful in taking Tillet, that'll cut off the German supply lines and it will drive German forces back to the original line. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS So, this is an extremely important moment not only for the tankers of the 761st, but for the Allied war effort. NARRATOR On a slow, treacherous crawl towards Tillet is Johnnie Stevens. He’s in charge of five of these tanks. NARRATOR In another tank nearby is ammunitions loader Floyd Dade. NARRATOR On the other side of the valley E.G. McConnell’s company. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Just getting to the town of Tillet for the 761st is going to be like the 12 tasks of Hercules. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS In that area, the Germans have placed fortifications, pill boxes, dragon’s teeth, self-propelled rockets. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS Patton had no delusions in sending the men, that they’d actually return. NARRATOR Johnnie Stevens leads his tanks deep into German controlled territory. Where he’ll face enemy tanks with a fearsome reputation. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The 761st is up against the Fuhrer Beigleit Brigade. There's no question that these are the elite of the elite, and there's also no question that the 761st are, operating under even more brutal conditions and with even higher stakes. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The region is experiencing the coldest winter in over 30 years. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY It was terrible. You're freezing cold. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY You haven't seen the light of a fire in a month. Your feet were frozen. Guys are sick. It was just a bad thing up there. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The weather certainly played to the advantage of the Nazis. Almost zero visibility. SOLDIER Fire! FLOYD DADE TESTIMONY Germans had white uniforms. They would raise up out of the snow and they would fire on us. By the time you find out where he is and spot the fire on him he’d moved to another place and start firing. NARRATOR The 761st protect the thousands of American soldiers fighting alongside them, including the men of the 87th infantry division. WAYNE ROBINSON The 761st and the infantry division they couldn't see antitank guns that were concealed in the woods. WAYNE ROBINSON And the Germans were firing two or three self-propelled guns very powerful weapons. PROFESSOR MARCUS COX When these smaller Sherman tanks would come up against these Tiger and these Panzer tanks, it was not a fair fight. PROFESSOR MARCUS COX The allied tanks were probably more mobile, faster, but they didn't have the armament and the firepower that the German tanks had. DOREEN STEVENS All hell has broken loose here in Belgium. They are throwing everything at us except Hitler's dress suit. NARRATOR Day two, and Johnnie Stevens and Floyd Dade’s company have already taken up an attack position on higher ground, just outside of Tillet. NARRATOR When the 87th infantry advance towards the town, they encounter heavy fire. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The Germans that evening are able to wipe out a large number of the 87th Infantry Division. FLOYD DADE TESTIMONY The Germans was up on the ridge and that was a place like a soup bowl. Once you get down in there, you can't get out. Those guys in there they were like a line of ducks. The Germans just slaughtered them. NARRATOR War records show that the 87th infantry suffer heavy losses. DOREEN STEVENS My father heard that the soldiers had gotten killed and he felt deeply about losing these men. DOREEN STEVENS They stuck by each other through everything, so to lose them, it had to be like losing a brother. NARRATOR As the Battle of the Bulge rages, the US Army is slowly driving the Germans back but suffering many casualties. Around Tillet, the Nazi defenders refuse to yield. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The 761st really are in a untenable position not knowing what lies beyond the next ridge, not to mention what lies or what's waiting for them in the town itself. DOREEN STEVENS READING FROM DIARY I don't know what date it is because we have been so busy fighting, we have forgotten about dates and times. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS They're fighting by degrees. And as they move closer, and move back and move closer, and move back, that dance now has them face to face with their partner, but on a very shortened dance floor. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS After five days they're so close, they literally feel like they can reach out and touch the enemy. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS And so, it really at this point, degenerates into tank-to-tank combat. SOLDIER Enemy tank inbound! PROFESSOR MARCUS COX Guns themselves for the German tanks, were bigger and stronger, so they hit an allied tank, it was going to explode. SOLDIER Fire! WAYNE ROBINSON It was all killing. Main gun fire, co-ax fire, anti-tank fire, small arms fire from both sides. FLOYD DADE TESTIMONY It hit about twenty five yards from me. It was a mortar. FLOYD DADE TESTIMONY I could feel the heat from the red and black smoke that I saw. NARRATOR The 761st are now so close to the center of Tillet, but just can’t make the final advance into the town. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY He's got you pinned down. JOHNNIE STEVENS TESTIMONY They're going to kill you sooner or later so you've got to figure out a way to get around it. NARRATOR It’s around this time that E.G. McConnell’s tank and 9 others try to change the course of the battle. WAYNE ROBINSON E.G. McConnell went to work with the 76 millimeter main gun. And he killed as many Germans as he could. WAYNE ROBINSON And when they saw black smoke spiraling into the sky they knew that they had hit these German armored vehicles, and the more of them that they knocked out the the more precarious the situation of German infantry inside of Tillet became. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The 761st are ultimately successful in pushing the Germans back. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS By nightfall, the 761st and the 87th Infantry Division had won. NARRATOR In the process of liberating Tillet, the 761st lose several tanks and the lives of five men. DOREEN STEVENS We have taken a beating, but whoever said colored soldiers can’t fight is a damn liar. NARRATOR And victory bears a heavy price for men like E.G. McConnell. CAROLE JOHNSON My dad’s battalion was hit severely. He saw his best friend killed in action. CAROLE JOHNSON At the time he's telling this story, he was 81 years old and he wept like as if it had happened that day. I never saw my father weep. NARRATOR The strategic victory at Tillet blocks German progress and shatters their morale. Hitler’s last major offensive on the Western front is crumbling. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT The Battle of the Bulge was the largest and deadliest battle that the United States fought during World War Two. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT Churchill described it as the greatest battle America fought during the war. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS The last major German offensive has been checked. Now it's on to Berlin. NARRATOR Next, our heroes in the 761st are sent eastwards. NARRATOR They punch a hole in the Nazi’s Siegfried Line, opening the way for the American advance deep into Germany. They take dozens of German towns and cities. And there’s an inescapable irony here. WAYNE ROBINSON The German soldiers were so imbued with racial superiority, they couldn't countenance the idea that a black soldier could defeat them in combat. NARRATOR All three of our heroes survive to see Victory in Europe declared, on 8th May 1945. SHAUNA DADE SIAH My father was happy when he heard that the war was over. There’s even a picture of him when he had his finger up, like, ‘we’re number one.’ He said, ‘I’m so glad that we defeated Hitler.’ DOREEN STEVENS This is the picture of my father in Germany. And other members of the 761st Tank Battalion. This picture is special to us. He was happy when war was over because he was ready to come home. NARRATOR Returning to the USA Black soldiers held out hope for a warm welcome, but of course that just wasn’t the case. ARCHIVE (Cheering crowds.) SHAUNA DADE SIAH When my dad returned from Europe, no parade, no fanfare, no thank you, nothing. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT One of the big differences between Black Americans’ and white Americans’ experience of the war is that Black veterans weren’t treated as heroes when they came home. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR We see massive incidents of racial violence and racial terrorism that is directly aimed at World War Two black veterans. Men could be lynched for wearing their uniforms, because the uniform it is a badge of citizenship. It is a badge of equality. So how dare you desecrate that uniform and upset the racial order by wearing it. NARRATOR To add insult to injury, Black veterans’ enormous contribution to the war effort is being erased, excluded from official narratives and history books. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR In depictions of the war, they’re telling a story that is built on this idea that Black people don’t exist. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR This helps us understand the deliberate and calculating nature by which African Americans were written out of the war effort. WAYNE ROBINSON 761st members said, ‘I stopped talking about my war time experiences because they couldn't believe that there was a Black battalion that did all of these things. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT They weren't accorded the same acknowledgment that white troops were. That was hurtful. And that's why it's so important to bring those stories back into the center of the story we tell about the war today. DOREEN STEVENS They did something, they did something that was really special, and you have to recognize people’s achievements. And it’s like I’m wearing those medals on my chest. NARRATOR Like all Black vets E.G. McConnell could not understand why his heroics were hidden after the war. NARRATOR This is rare footage of him filmed before the fiftieth anniversary of the War. E.G. McConnell Testimony We were so very, very much involved in the Battle of the Bulge. Yet no mention has ever been made of it. CAROLE JOHNSON My father had a studio that was invite only. He would bunker in there for quite a while and Mom had to bring a tray up to him for his meals. CAROLE JOHNSON Truthfully speaking, I don't think World War 2 ever left my father's psyche. CAROLE JOHNSON A lot of times he suffered silently. It was something that came up every day. WAYNE ROBINSON This is a 1938 tanker helmet, E.G. McConnell gifted it to me and, uh, it means everything to me. SHAUNA DADE SIAH I’m extremely proud of my dad. It makes me proud that he was a part of that history and it wasn't told and I wish that he got his story out more. FLOYD DADE TESTIMONY What shocks everybody I have talked to about the story of the 761st is that they haven’t heard about it before now. It was hid so long. NARRATOR Imagine everything you went through, the sacrifice and the bloodshed, simply dismissed. PROFESSOR LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR We do have servicemen who say, you know ‘what did I do this for? How has this changed my life?’ I think more important however, is that for many of them it is the spark of radicalism that completely changes who they are. PROFESSOR MATTHEW DELMONT World War 2 really sets the stage for the civil rights movement. There is like a whole generation of Black veterans who become civil rights leaders. ARCHIVE MEDGAR EVERS Now for many of us who’ve gone overseas, fought for this country, we fought for Mississippi, we fought for Alabama and we fought for every state in this union! PROFESSOR MARCUS COX What’s happening in the United States for the fight for equal and social rights, is happening in Africa, it’s happening in Asia, it’s happening in South America, it’s happening in India. ARCHIVE KWAME NKRUMAH This decade is the decade of African Independence. Forward then, to independence! To independence now! NARRATOR In 1964 the US Congress passes the Civil Rights Act. It’s meant to protect against discrimination, but the reality on America’s streets is different. It’s left for the kids of veterans, like Carole to pick up the baton for equality. CAROLE JOHNSON I became involved with sit-ins, I became involved with rallies. My generation had a lot to say about the Vietnam War and Apartheid Africa. NARRATOR Watching these moments through the years, the call for social equality and the end of violence towards Black people resonates just as loud today and we draw strength from those who went before us. PROFESSOR YOHURU WILLIAMS We recognize that in the lives of others, we often find hope and inspiration, not solely because they achieved great things, but they did so against tremendous odds. CAROLE JOHNSON I am so proud of the achievement of that whole generation. YVONNE LATTY They're heroes and their stories deserve to be elevated and not erased. YVONNE LATTY There’s always these doors shut on knowing the truth and you see it now. And I think that keeps this country so separated. YVONNE LATTY We all bleed, we all cry, we all suffer, we have joy, we are all human, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is. When kids are exposed to real black heroes, it makes you feel differently about yourself. That’s such a beautiful legacy.