Black Soldiers Fought Segregation, Germans

There were the hardy Buffalo Soldiers who campaigned on the Great Plains during U.S. western expansion and formed the 10th Cavalry that fought atop San Juan Hill in the SpanishAmerican War, and the Harlem Hellfighters of the New York National Guard's 369th Infantry Regiment who fought in World War I. When the country went to war, black Americans rallied around the flag. Chopping through red tape, brushing aside foot-dragging and pushing past bigotry, McNair insisted on forming black combat outfits, to include two infantry divisions, a separate infantry regiment, and multiple field artillery, tank destroyer and tank battalions. Yet thanks to McNair and the demonstrated capability of African Americans under fire, some black units made it to the front line. For 2½ long years, as many other U.S. armored units deployed, the 761st Tank Battalion's soldiers trained as ordered.