Tell me the Guardian isn't a tabloid...I honestly don't know that much about British papers. Anyway, I don't know how true the story is but it certainly wouldn't surprise me. Blacks weren't even given equal status as soldiers / heros in WWII, let alone WWI.
I think the gist of it is that he wasn't honored until just recently by our government, even though he was honored (while he was still alive) by the French. At least that's how I read it. Could be wrong....
<strong>I think the gist of it is that he wasn't honored until just recently by our government, even though he was honored (while he was still alive) by the French. At least that's how I read it. Could be wrong....</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's pretty much it, Moogs. In answer to your earlier question, no The Guardian is not a tabloid, it's a centre-left broadsheet - the equivalent of something like The New York Times or The Washington Post (although I could be wrong on that - I don't know much about US papers, to tell the truth) . The print edition is accompanied by a photo of Henry Johnson and the following box:
[quote] First into battle but last to be thanked
?In 1641, black slaves were enlisted to help fight Native Americans. Until then they were not allowed to carry weapons.
?By December 1775 almost 300 black men had joined Lord Dunmore's 'Ethiopian Regiment' after British forces offered freedom to slaves in return for joining the army. In 1779, George Washington did the same, welcoming all black men, free or slave, into his ranks.
?Despite heroic efforts by black Americans in the Revolutionary War, their contributions were soon forgotten. At the end of the American Revolution, they were virtually eliminated from the armed forces of the new nation.
?In 1862, however, as the Civil War drained the supply of volunteers, black recruitment was once again approved with the creation of the United States Coloured Troops (USCT), but all officers were still to be white.
?More than 209, 000 black soldiers fought in the American Civil War but at the end of the conflict black veterans were not invited to the victory parade. It was not until July 1998 that a memorial was dedicated to them.
?Approximately 10 per cent of 400,000 black soldiers who served in the First World War were assigned to combat units, but of the 127 Medals of Honour awarded during the war, none was given to a black man.
?On April 24 1991, President Bush posthumously awarded the 128th Medal of Honour to Corporal Freddie Stowers, a black soldier killed in France in 1918.
?Formal segregation was still in force during the Second World War, in which more than 400,000 African-Americans served.
?On July 26 1948, President Harry Truman established a policy of equality for everyone in the Armed Forces, regardless of race or colour.
?Although black soldiers constituted 13 per cent of US forces in the Korean War, the Vietnam War was America's first truly racially integrated conflict. Of the 246, 000 men recruited between October 1966 and June 1969, 41 per cent were black, although black Americans represented only 11 per cent of the US population.
Comments
<strong>I think the gist of it is that he wasn't honored until just recently by our government, even though he was honored (while he was still alive) by the French. At least that's how I read it. Could be wrong....</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's pretty much it, Moogs. In answer to your earlier question, no The Guardian is not a tabloid, it's a centre-left broadsheet - the equivalent of something like The New York Times or The Washington Post (although I could be wrong on that - I don't know much about US papers, to tell the truth) . The print edition is accompanied by a photo of Henry Johnson and the following box:
[quote] First into battle but last to be thanked
?In 1641, black slaves were enlisted to help fight Native Americans. Until then they were not allowed to carry weapons.
?By December 1775 almost 300 black men had joined Lord Dunmore's 'Ethiopian Regiment' after British forces offered freedom to slaves in return for joining the army. In 1779, George Washington did the same, welcoming all black men, free or slave, into his ranks.
?Despite heroic efforts by black Americans in the Revolutionary War, their contributions were soon forgotten. At the end of the American Revolution, they were virtually eliminated from the armed forces of the new nation.
?In 1862, however, as the Civil War drained the supply of volunteers, black recruitment was once again approved with the creation of the United States Coloured Troops (USCT), but all officers were still to be white.
?More than 209, 000 black soldiers fought in the American Civil War but at the end of the conflict black veterans were not invited to the victory parade. It was not until July 1998 that a memorial was dedicated to them.
?Approximately 10 per cent of 400,000 black soldiers who served in the First World War were assigned to combat units, but of the 127 Medals of Honour awarded during the war, none was given to a black man.
?On April 24 1991, President Bush posthumously awarded the 128th Medal of Honour to Corporal Freddie Stowers, a black soldier killed in France in 1918.
?Formal segregation was still in force during the Second World War, in which more than 400,000 African-Americans served.
?On July 26 1948, President Harry Truman established a policy of equality for everyone in the Armed Forces, regardless of race or colour.
?Although black soldiers constituted 13 per cent of US forces in the Korean War, the Vietnam War was America's first truly racially integrated conflict. Of the 246, 000 men recruited between October 1966 and June 1969, 41 per cent were black, although black Americans represented only 11 per cent of the US population.
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