Events and Ideas #5 Minorities in the Military U.S. History Unit 5

Contains these videos: The Most Decorated Unit of the US Army

Essential Question: Identify each minority group that served in WWII. What challenges did each group face and what were their contributions to the United States winning the war?

Women’s Roles in WWII Congress first allowed women in the military in 1942 Many of the American public had trouble with women in the military 350,000 women served in the Armed Forces Over 150,000 American women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War 11. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army. Both the Army and the American public initially had difficulty accepting the concept of women in uniform. However, political and military leaders, faced with fighting a two-front war and supplying men and materiel for that war while continuing to send lend-lease material to the Allies, realized that women could supply the additional resources so desperately needed in the military and industrial sectors. Given the opportunity to make a major contribution to the national war effort, women seized it. By the end of the war their contributions would be widely heralded.

Women's Air Service Pilots Women's Army Corp The first contingent of Black American WACs to go overseas for the war effort (Army)

Mrs. DeVault’s mother served in the Navy during WWII WAVES Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (Navy) Mrs. DeVault’s mother served in the Navy during WWII

Ethnic Minorities in the Military Ethnic groups serving in the Armed Forces in WWII: 1 million African American men and women- segregated 25,000 Japanese American men and women - segregated ½ a million Latino men and women, mostly unsegregated 44,000 Native Americans served, about 25,000 from reservations About 1 million African American men and women served in the armed forces during World War II in segregated units. 82 African American pilots received the Distinguished Flying Cross. But not a single African American won the Medal of Honor during the war, and an army study during the 1990s concluded that "racism was the cause" for that extraordinary fact. In 1997, seven African Americans received the Medal of Honor for World War II service. An estimated 300,000 Mexican Americans served during the war, and, despite race riots and discrimination in housing, education, and employment, Mexican Americans won seventeen Congressional Medals of Honor, and hundreds received the Silver and Bronze Stars for valor in battle. About 25,000 Japanese American men and women served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II even as their parents and siblings were targeted by martial law in Hawaii and held in detention and concentration camps. Japanese Americans served in segregated units, and in limited capacities. Among the most decimated of the war, Japanese American units garnered 18,143 individual citations, including a Medal of Honor (20 additional Medals of Honor were awarded over 50 years after the war) and 52 Distinguished Service Crosses. Highest percentage per capita to serve were the Native American’s. About 25,000 on reservation Indians and 20,000 off reservation Indians men served during the war, and nearly 800 Native American women. An estimated two Native Americans received Medals of Honor, fifty-one Silver Stars, forty-seven Bronze Stars, and thirty-four Distinguished Flying Crosses. Still, military service provided a powerful argument for claims on democracy by racialized minorities, and those demands would become particularly compelling after the war in the struggle for civil rights during the 1950s and 60s. War veterans would play key roles in the civil rights movement.

Segregated Military US military was completely segregated at start of war. Separate barracks, mess halls, bathrooms, etc. Black military units were commanded by white officers. Most military leaders wanted black soldiers out of combat. Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division operate a mortar, Massa, Italy in November 1944. Military service highlighted the contradictions of U.S. democracy. Enlisted to defend the U.S. and its war aims as articulated by the President in the Four Freedoms, minorities fulfilled an obligation of citizenship and were counted among "we, the people." But African and Japanese Americans served in segregated units, were excluded from certain branches of the service, and were denied full equality in the military.

Latino Americans in WWII Guy Gabaldon a famous Mexican American Marine who caused the astonishing surrender of numerous Japanese (between800 and 1,500 ) Over 500,000 Latinos served 350,000 Mexican Americans Exact numbers are not known because the were mainly integrated with Whites Only one regiment was segregated: the 65th from Puerto Rico Guy Louis Gabaldon (March 22, 1926 – August 31, 2006) was a former United States Marine who, at age 18, captured or persuaded to surrender Japanese soldiers and civilians during the battles for Saipan and Tinian islands in 1944 during World War II. Though Gabaldon was recommended for the Medal of Honor, he received the Silver Star, which was upgraded by the Marine Corps to the Navy Cross in 1960. Although Gabaldon, described as a relentless self-promoter, claimed to have brought in 1,500 Japanese soldiers or civilians on Saipan, witnesses later said that it was likely only half that.

Tuskegee Airmen Army Air corps created the first all black air unit in early 1941. The Tuskegee Airmen fought in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. 332nd Fighter Group flew 200 bomber escort missions – without losing a single bomber to enemy fire. The Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was first sent overseas as part of Operation Torch, then in action in Sicily and Italy, before being deployed as bomber escorts in Europe where they were particularly successful in their missions. The Tuskegee Airmen initially were equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fighter-bomber aircraft, briefly with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally the fighter group acquired the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-5 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47's red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. Bomber crews applied a more effusive "Red-Tail Angels" nickname.

442nd Regimental Combat Team Japanese Americans proved their loyalty with military service while their families were held in internment camps in the U.S. Their motto was “go for broke.” Fought in Italy, France and Germany The motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was “go for broke.” It’s a gambling term that means risking everything on one great effort to win big. The soldiers of the 442nd needed to win big. They were Nisei - American-born sons of Japanese immigrants. They fought two wars: the Germans in Europe and the prejudice in America. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team included the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, 232nd Combat Engineer Company, 206th Army Ground Force Band, Antitank Company, Cannon Company, Service Company, medical detachment, headquarters companies, and two infantry battalions. The troops of the 442nd Regiment fought in eight major campaigns in Italy, France and Germany, including the battles at Belmont, Bruyeres and Biffontaine. At Biffontaine, the unit fought perhaps its most famous battle, the "Rescue of the Lost Battalion". In this bloody confrontation, the 442nd unit lost more than 800 troops to rescue 211 members of the Texan 1st Battalion of the 141st Regiment. A 442nd RCT squad leader checks for German units in France in November 1944.

442nd Regimental Combat Team 442nd became the most highly decorated unit in WWII. Famous for their rescue of the Texan 1st Battalion of the 141st Regiment saving 211 lives while losing 800 of their own soldiers. The 3,000 members earned 9,486 Purple Hearts – meaning on average, each person was injured 3 times. The 442nd RCT became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service, with its component 100th Infantry Battalion earning the nickname “The Purple Heart Battalion.” The 442nd RCT received 7 Presidential Unit Citations (5 earned in one month), and its members received around 18,000 awards, including: Perhaps the most famous of the 442nd accomplishments was the heroic rescue of the Texas "Lost Battalion" which had been caught behind enemy lines. In a ferocious battle, the 442nd suffered over 800 casualties (including 184 killed) to rescue 211 members of the Texas battalion. 21 Medals of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses (including 19 Distinguished Service Crosses which were upgraded to Medals of Honor in June 2000), 1 Distinguished Service Medal, 560 Silver Stars (plus 28 Oak Leaf Clusters for a second award), 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 15 Soldier’s Medals, 4,000 Bronze Stars (plus 1,200 Oak Leaf Clusters for a second award; one Bronze Star was upgraded to a Medal of Honor in June 2000), and 9,486 Purple Hearts They had only 3,000 members meaning that, on average, each person in the unit was wounded 3 times.

Video: The Most Decorated Unit of the US Army Answer the following questions while watching the video (just number them – don’t write the questions): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_3KO9c_QE Why did many Japanese young men sign up to fight? How man were in the regiment? How many decorations did they receive?

Code Talkers received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2000 Navajo Code Talkers Storming beaches required secret radio communication between units. Marines recruited from Navajo Reservations. Navajo was a hidden language with no written alphabet. Code Talkers received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2000

Navajo Code Talkers Code Talkers could relay a message in minutes that would have taken a code machine operator hours to encipher and transmit. During the battle for Iwo Jima, Code Talkers transmitted 800 messages in the first 48 hours. The code was never broken by the Japanese 400 Native American Marines served in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted these messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formal or informally developed codes built upon their native languages. Their service improved communications in terms of speed of encryption at both ends in front line operations during World War II. Navajo speakers specially recruited during World War II by the Marines to serve in their standard communications units in the Pacific Theater.   Although the “original 29″ who created the military code attended boot camp in May 1942, and they along with nearly 400 other Navajo Code Talkers helped the United States military win World War II by the end of 1945, the group “received no recognition until the declassification of the operation in 1968.”

Essential Question: Identify each minority group that served in WWII. What challenges did each group face and what were their contributions to the United States winning the war?