"Half American" by Matthew Delmont

World War II is often recalled as that one great war, an engagement between the forces of good and evil that called upon this country to unleash the arsenal of democracy to thwart fascism and annihilate the concept of Nazism.

But what we don’t often recall is that while every able-bodied individual was called on to serve his country in this time of need, some of the most able-bodied Americans stepped up to help the cause and were turned down—because of the color of their skin.

That’s just one of the stories that Matthew Delmont relates in “Half American,” a book that documents the battles that black Americans fought before they could be sent overseas—to enlist, to survive basic training and then to accept secondary roles when the military, bowing to pressure, finally put black soldiers into service.

Delmont said it took seven years of research to construct “Half American.” He reported that black newspapers like the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender were great resources on black America’s involvement in WWII.

“The black press has always understood itself to be a fighting press,” he told Steve Tarter. “They’ve always said they’re fighting on behalf of black Americans. During WWII they were fighting against racial discrimination in the military and defense industries,” he said.

“They were front and center calling on FDR, the military and politicians to be accountable, to recognize that black soldiers were catching hell in these Army bases in the South,” said Delmont, who spelled out the large—and largely ignored—role that black Americans wound up playing in the war.

“Black Americans, by and large, were not in combat but placed in supply and logistical roles,” he said. Delmont points out that supply lines like the Red Ball Express that served Allied troops in Europe made the difference when it came to keeping troops engaged. “WWII wasn’t just a battle of strategy but a battle of supply,” he said.

While the black press promoted a Double Victory campaign, calling for wins over America’s enemies and racism at home, it was all but ignored by the white press, said Delmont. “When it was reported on, it was critically as some viewed black Americans fully behind the war effort, that blacks were asking too much by asking for equality.”

Delmont also cited the role black Americans played in two of the biggest road projects during the war, the Alaskan Highway and the Ledo Road in Asia. Under some of the most difficult conditions on Earth, black Americans made up an estimated 60 percent of the work force in both projects.