Customer Reviews

Fighting for America: Black Soldiers--the Unsung Heroes of World War II

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Chris Moore's chronicle of black patriotism from Colonial times through World War II is nothing short of an excellent walk through history. As a history buff I found myself eager to turn each page. I would sit with highlighter in hand marking special passages as though I was still a college student studying for an exam. Moore has a special way of transporting the reader back in time, allowing one to almost hear the voices of those who wrote the letters featured in the book. I never realized just how much we as a people contributed to the early Colonial battles that set America as a country free.

Even though black Americans have fought and died in every war this country has faced, only the heroes of recent history get recognition. Yes, we grew up with a knowledge of Crispus Attucks, but what about heroes like Seaman Doris 'Dorrie' Miller and Pfc Robert H. Brooks. Miller was aboard the USS West Virginia, when she was attacked December 7, 1941 by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. Miller, a naval messman, managed to save several lives when he shot down four enemy planes with a .50-caliber anti-aircraft gun he'd never been trained to use. Miller was later presented the Navy Cross for his efforts. I was never taught in school about Pfc Robert H. Brooks was the first soldier to die at Fort Stotenbugh in the Phillipines, when the Japanese attacked December 8, 1941.

There was also airmen Eugene Bullard, who was not allowed to fly combat missions for America. Bullard was however, welcomed by the French army and became an ace pilot during World War I. Bullard flew more than twenty missions against the Germans and was credited with shooting down at least five enemy aircraft. Moore introduces us to black female heroes like pilot Willa Beatrice Brown. In 1941 Lieutenant Brown became the first woman officer in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Throughout WWII Brown served as an instructor in the Civilian Pilot Training Program.

Moore's research on the Red Ball Express, the 320th Barrage Ballon Brigade, the 161st Chemical Smoke Generating Company and the countless Engineer Aviation Battalions such as the 810th and the 811th paved the way for Allied victory. Moore allows the reader to feel the shear determination of black enlisted men and women who fought a duel war. One war was against the Germans and Japanese and the other war was against the prejudice they faced daily from their fellow American service men and women. Although this book began as a tribute to Moore's parents S.Sgt. Bill Moore and Pfc Norma K. DeFreese Moore his four year journey turned out to be so much more. Though not written as a text book, this book should be incorportated into the half written history books our children are taught from. It is a book that my family will read again and again.

Reviewed by Felecia R. Ellis Memphis RAWSISTAZ

To anyone with any common sense, it should come as no surprise that African American soldiers carried the load, literally, during the Second World War. FIGHTING FOR AMERICA does a superb and meticulous job in detailing all of the many ways which black soldiers helped to win the war. It is simply a national shame that most black soldiers who fought in WWII have gone to their graves without any recognition for their bravery and heroism. This book is loaded with bonafide heroes who are worthy of our applause and any monument which can be erected in their honor. I recommend this book highly.

What an interesting subject, presented with historical perspective in Fighting for America, written by Moore to honor his GI Joe Mom and Dad.

I found myself saying out loud, "I didn't know that" as I got a history lesson about the role African-Americans played in fighting for America since they became "Americans."

Even in a movie like "Saving Private Ryan," the important role of several hundred black soldiers at Utah and Omaha Beach on D-Day was not shown. Throughout the book that focuses on World War II, we learn about heroism, camaraderie, segregation, exclusion, demoralization, prejudice -- and patriotism.

Often black men were sent on the most difficult missions - ands then their efforts were greatly downplayed or excluded from history (both when it happened) and in written-down history.

Black women also served as nurses and with other support units. The 6,888th Central Postal Direction Battalion, an all-black unit, assigned some 80 black women to handle mail sorting at a base in Birmingham, England. Those women were the first black people many English had seen, and they helped to shatter stereotypes.

Many of us have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen and all they accomplished. Other black soldiers, trained as paratroopers, were sent to the West Coast of the United States and became firefighters. Their job was to jump into remote forested area and put out fires caused by airborne incendiary bombs sent aloft by the Japanese.

Also, a third of the 10,500 soldiers who built the Alcan Highway (from Canada through roughest Alaska) were black. This major construction project was rushed to ensure that America had a way to get supplies to northward to defend our borders if the enemy blocked our supply ships.

The book was filled with such interesting facts that any history buff will love it. And if you just like to read good stories about good people, it will meet that requirement.

If you are a fan of history or not this is wonderful book. Having read a several other history books on WWII in college, this is the first book that has captured me. The journey the reader takes through the life of the author's family and through other soldier's personal experiences allows the reader to relate to the war rather then simply read about it. If history books in school were written like this one, history class would not have been dreaded.

Book was very informative, bringing what I knew and adding volumes more.
Well written and easy to understand.

This is an excellent book, really makes justice to these american citizens. The history about Robert T. Browne is specialy touching, and Robert Fikes, in "The Triumph of Robert T. Browne: The Mystery of Space" (APA Newsletter,Vol. 6, Number 2, 2007) gives aditional glances on the life of this remarkable man of mysteries.