Isaac Rice is the protagonist in First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story.  He was the first born (April 10, 1847) of Mark and Eve Rice.  Aunt Ella, the midwife, declared at his birth, and repeated for the rest of her life, that Isaac was the handsomest child she had ever seen.  By age fifteen, Isaac's dark brown face featured a luxurious black mustache and thick smooth eyebrows.  Though Isaac did not think of himself as being handsome, girls and women adored his face and physique.

As promised, here are thumbnail sketches of the women who loved Isaac.

Miriam

At age fourteen, the first girl to get his attention was Miriam.  They were the same age.  She died a year later from sickle cell anemia, at that time, an unnamed mysterious disease.

Bianca

The recently widowed Bianca (born September 8, 1840) was more than seven years older than Isaac when she made him, at age sixteen, the object of her affections.  They were born on the same plantation in Colleton County, South Carolina, not far from Charleston.  Bianca's beauty and brilliance was recognized by the plantation owner's wife who featured her in the service of wealthy and politically important guests.  Isaac was overcome by her charm and determination.  Bianca succeeded in becoming Isaac's first lover.

Rachel

Isaac and Rachel met in the Mississippi Delta during the last year of the Civil war.  Rachel was the first African American Isaac knew who could read and write.  Rachel was born May 11, 1848 in Copiah County, Mississippi and raised by her father.  Before she met Isaac, Rachel knew she wanted to be a teacher and had shot two bandits.  Rachel was petite, comely, and beautifully proportioned.  She and her father participated in the Natchez delegation to the Mississippi Constitutional Convention after the Civil War.  Until she met Isaac, Rachel had shown no interest in the men on the plantations where she lived.  She loved Isaac at first sight.  Rachel was destined to kill again.

Francesca

Born September 7, 1848 in New Orleans to a white hotel owner and his African American mistress, Francesca was a mulatto too dark to pass for white.  She joined the service of the US Army as a laundress and met Isaac after he enlisted in the Army's 10^th Cavalry Regiment.  They became fast friends, but too soon for Isaac, still suffering from the loss of previous loves.

Alejandra

Though at the time she helped a physician in Chihuahua dig bullets out of two shooting victims she had only limited reading and counting skills, Alejandra became a nurse.  She was born in the small village of Carrizal, Chihuahua on October 11, 1848.  Her ancestors included the enslaved African known as Orestes, who was brought to the mines of Chihuahua by Spaniards.  Isaac was unconscious when Alejandra first saw him.  She saved his life and decided to keep him.

I hope you enjoyed meeting the women who loved Isaac. 

Watch this space as the bibliography of First Dark is released this summer, followed by the novel this fall.

Y'all come on back and visit any ol' time.

# # #

   The Gulf of Mexico near the Rio Grande.
 

Salute and thanks to contributors and new friends!

Travels to follow the paths taken by major characters in First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story ended this week where the Rio Grande flows into the Gulf of Mexico.  Because of the war underway in Mexico and my unwanted encounter with agents in Chihuahua in 1997, the Rio Grande at the Gulf is a stand-in for the final scenes in First Dark that occur on the Rio Pesca near the Gulf, a short distance further south in Tamaulipas.

The most important assets I acquired on this last trek for First Dark was not copies of rare documents, maps, and books.  More valuable has been the people who generously shared their time, resources, and introduced me to their acquaintances - all for the purpose of helping me make First Dark a living experience for readers.  Each person will be saluted on the acknowledgement page in First Dark with their full names and their contributions noted.

In the meanwhile, here are early thanks to my family and Claudia, Pam, Leland, Edgar, Jennifer, Lois, Bubba, Ellyn, Melvin, Neal, Patricia, Tonya, Ike, and Ranger Smith.

Watch this space as the bibliography First Dark is released this summer, followed by the novel this fall.

Y'all come on back and visit any ol' time.

# # #

Right: Bob at Seminole Canyon on the confluence of the Pecos and Rio Grande.                                                                         

 

Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant were war presidents.  The US Army fought Indians before, during, and for many years after the Civil War.  An especially difficult war was waged in the American southwest against Apaches, a very formidable foe.  Walking the battlegrounds of these wars in Mississippi, Texas, and New Mexico helped provide me with better understanding of the conditions under which these nineteenth century wars were waged.  Three young warriors, during the presidencies of Lincoln and Grant, fought against Isaac Rice, beside him, or in one case - both.

Isaac Rice is the protagonist in First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story (coming this fall).  The brave actions of the dedicated young men who became involved in his story helped fill Isaac's life with high adventure and test his mettle in the face of danger that threatened his life on several occasions.  Isaac's three key male antagonists are introduced below. 

(I will introduce Isaac's three female antagonists in my next blog.)

Billy

William Duke was born in Carpenter (Copiah County), Mississippi.  He was a sharpshooter in the 38^th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.  Known as Billy to his friends, William held a strong belief in the tenants of Confederate Vice President Alexander H Stephens' famous "Cornerstone Speech," delivered as the Confederacy was forming.  Stephens' cornerstone was based "upon the great truth that the [Negro] is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition."  William fought at Shiloh and Vicksburg with fervor for this principle and to drive the Federal invaders from his state.

James

Wounded and captured by Confederates in Mississippi while serving in his home state's 6^th Illinois Cavalry, James Darby of Springfield recovered from his wound and later served with George Armstrong Custer's 5^th Michigan Cavalry.  James believed, as Lincoln did, that the Union must be preserved.  At heart, James was a moderate abolitionist.   He fought at Shiloh, was a scout in Grierson's famed raid in Mississippi, and pursed Lee to Appomattox.  After the Civil War, James served in the west with the US Army's 4^th Cavalry Regiment.

Ortega

Trained to be a warrior from childhood, Ortega (Nah-kah-yen) was born in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico.  Due to the depleted ranks of Mescalero Apache warriors and his heroic deeds as a teenager, Ortega was promoted early and given the privilege of fighting beside experienced warriors against the Confederate, Union, and Mexican armies.  Ortega fought engagements against elements of these armies and raided civilians in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua, and Sonora.

Though I used my cell phone, an iron carriage, an air mattress, and public libraries during my travels to follow these nineteenth century warriors, I have a fresh appreciation of what they encountered.  I salute and stand in awe of the Apache warriors and a US Army 10^th Cavalry cartographer who learned their way through the various mountain ranges of New Mexico and Texas. 

Once here, one can admire the beauty of these rocky desert mountains and contrast them to the ponderosa pine covered mountains.  While admiring the beauty of desert plants during the day, or after midnight watching the stars and Milky Way at 9,000 feet above sea level, I remembered reminders from Mescalero friends, rangers, and local librarians to be careful and keep watch for bears and mountain lions.  I paid attention.  An annoying yellow and black persistent fly that sounds like an ordinary house fly also got my attention by continuously buzzing my head in the higher elevations.

My poor arithmetic caused me to be without gasoline in my iron carriage for five hours one night last week at the junction of Texas Farm Roads 505 and 166 - in other words, 25 miles short of my destination and in the middle of nowhere.  So, what to do?   I called AAA and requested gasoline.  After several delays, they delivered.  In the meantime, I set up my propane stove and made dinner.  Since I carry about two gallons of water, washing dishes was not a problem.  Relaxing in my folding sports chair under a rustler's moon, I watched the night sky and took in the sounds of the night creatures - and made notes.  A deputy sheriff (born near Knoxville, TN) stopped by to visit twice at my roadside perch.  I appreciated his attention.

Salute to Claudia Rivers and the collections staff of the University of Texas at El Paso library for sharing highly relevant papers with me last week.

Next time at this location:  Isaac's ladies - the women who loved him.

Y'all come on back and visit any ol' time.

# # #

This Memorial Day was made special during my return visit to the Vicksburg National Military Park and the Old Court House Museum in downtown Vicksburg.

But first, let me share some good news with readers who can hardly wait to get their hands on a copy of First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story.  Tracy Stivers has given permission for the famous painting, "Proud to Serve," to be used on the cover of First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story.  Tracy's father, the late military historian and artist, Don Stivers, painted "Proud to Serve" in 1991.

My inspiration to write First Dark came in 1991, the first time I viewed a flier from Mr. Stivers that included a small photo of "Proud to Serve."  With the release of First Dark, the face of the soldier in "Proud to Serve" will become known as Isaac Rice, the protagonist in First Dark.

Isaac comes of age in First Dark.   His story features romances, high action adventure, struggles against men and nature, love, hate, and redemption set when America was young, expanding, and violent in the 1860s and 1870s.  You learned from a previous blog, that Bianca desired Isaac.  In my next blog, you will meet a dedicated Confederate soldier named William, (38^th Mississippi Infantry Regiment) whose destiny it was to fight at Vicksburg during the 1863 siege.

(Visit the vast works of Don Stivers and meet Isaac.  You may want to order a copy of "Proud to Serve" ahead of the release of First Dark, scheduled for this fall.  The Gallery includes a significant number of highly acclaimed Buffalo Soldier prints.)

I spent a part of my morning walking the battleground where William and a historic figure, Sergeant W. H. Tunnard (3^rd Louisiana Infantry Regiment) fought side-by-side against the Federal forces deployed by General Grant.  So, that is why I am in Vicksburg today.

A day when I expected to make good new discoveries turned into a great day of treasure hunting.  Among my new treasures are pages from unpublished stories written by two soldiers who fought for the 38^th Mississippi Infantry Regiment at Vicksburg during the siege!  A bonus to go with these coveted pages is information copied from the title page of Sergeant Tunnard's memoir, published in 1866!

These discoveries were made possible by two men who sacrificed a part their afternoon to assist me.  They are George "Bubba" Bolm, curator/director of the Old Court House Museum and his able assistant, Neal Brun. 

Salute to Bubba and Neal!  Make the Old Courthouse Museum a "must see" part of your visits to Vicksburg.  I was last here in 1997.  (Visit the museum on the web.)

Follow my adventures and discoveries here as I search for the final clues in the lives of Isaac's key antagonists at more places in Mississippi, West Texas, and Southern New Mexico.  Meet the characters as I follow in their foot steps.  I invite your comments via my "Contact Me" page.

Y'all come on back and visit often!

By Lisa Thornton
Special Correspondent, The Charlotte ObserverPosted: Sunday, May. 08, 2011 

An inner writer has always rustled within Bob Rogers' soul.

Just listen to him describe his earliest memory, as a tot on his father's cotton fields in 1945.

The words gather around to form a clear image, much like colors of paint rally on a canvas to create a picture.

"I'm running barefoot wearing a print flour sack dress across the furrows he had just plowed," says Rogers, who lives in University Heights. "I remember the damp earth from where he had turned the land felt cool to my bare feet. Cool. Smooth. Pleasant."

Rogers, 68, never thought of himself as a writer until a few years back, when a painting he saw became his unexpected muse, and led him to pen "Will & Dena: Love and Life in World War II."

The artwork, titled "Proud to Serve," by the late military artist Don Stivers, depicted an African American soldier leading a horse. It stirred that inner writer.

"As I held it," recalled Rogers, "I said aloud, this story needs to be told."

In the coming months, a stack of pages about an African American protagonist facing conflict both at home and at war began to thicken on his desk.

The novel, published in 2009 by Booklocker.com Inc, a print-on-demand publisher, set off a media tour for Rogers, leading him up the East Coast, where he was invited to sit at authors' tables in nearly a dozen Borders bookstores. He signed copies of Will & Dena in Washington D.C., Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro and Charlotte. One of those stops was at Borders in Northlake Mall.

Nothing in Rogers' resume would point to fiction writing. Majoring in chemistry at S.C. State University with plans to make the Army his profession, he enlisted upon graduation in 1966 and soon after packed his duffel for Vietnam.

After the war, an opportunity to work for IBM convinced him to leave military life, and he set up house in Charlotte, where he happily stayed, raising a family and retiring after 33 years with the company.

But the history of war never really left his mind, particularly the plight of African Americans in battle. Rogers grew up in Spartanburg, and he never heard anything in school about the all-African-American troops that fought in the battles of the United States.

"The history books I learned from both in secondary school and at South Carolina State University had absolutely not one sentence about anything to do with black troops. Period," said Rogers.

Not until his tour in Vietnam did he learn about influential units like the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, or the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, an all-African-American paratrooper unit known as the triple nickels.

Rogers has made it his duty to preserve these often-forgotten pieces of history.

His next novel, "First Dark: A Buffalo Soldier's Story," set during the civil war, will publish this September.

This summer, he'll continue to pour through the mounds of research he gathers to make sure each of his stories represents accurate depictions of the period.

"It's my duty to get it right so they hear it, see it, smell it, even hear the music."

Copyright 2011.  The Charlotte Observer.

    
 

Buffalo Soldier monument, Ft Leavenworth, KS

Re-enactor keeps legacy of Buffalo Soldiers alive

A guest post by Twi Brown
Carolina Peacemaker

Part of the BlackPressUSA Network
Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved :: Carolina Peacemaker
Originally posted 2/24/2011

As he wore an authentic Buffalo Soldier's uniform made completely out of wool, including hat, boots and large yellow gloves, South Carolina native Bob Rogers entertained and informed Greensboro residents about the soldiers' historical significance Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Benjamin Branch public library. As a member of Baltimore, Maryland's ninth and tenth (horse) Cavalry Association Chapter of Buffalo Soldier recreationist, Rogers transforms his knowledge and passion for Buffalo Soldiers into an interesting and educational experience for his viewers.

The Buffalo Soldiers were the first all Black regiment established by Congress in 1866. Many people may simply associate Buffalo Soldiers with the Civil War, but they also played an integral part in the Indian Wars, the Spanish American War, World War I and II and the Korean War.

Bob Rogers is a graduate of South Carolina State University. He served four years as an Army Officer, achieved the rank of Captain and saw action as a paratrooper in the Vietnam War. After his service, Rogers went on to work for IBM and retired after 33 years. He has been a volunteer Buffalo Solder recreationist since 1994. According to Rogers, although Buffalo Soldier re-enactors have been in frequent demand, history books still have not quite caught up with the military actions and bravery of these units. "Many schools, churches, and even state agencies in Maryland called on our Buffalo Soldier chapter for lectures and participation in parades," said Rogers. Rogers added that his interest in history and the Buffalo Soldiers have served as inspiration for some of his novels. In his novel "Will and Dena: Love and Life in World War II," Rogers uses fictional characters, but is careful to ensure the historical content is correct.

When Rogers delivered his presentation, He informed his audience about the importance of the Buffalo Soldiers and of the great service they gave to this country; putting their lives on the line to preserve basic human rights which they were denied because of their race. Rogers interest in Buffalo Soldiers goes back to his service days in the U.S. Army. "In 1967, I was assigned to the 1st Squadron, Tenth Cavalry. We were deployed in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It was there that I learned for the first time that Black troopers of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry fought to make the west (U.S.) safe for White settlers," he said. Rogers regaled the audience with little known facts about the Buffalo Soldiers and of their great service and bravery on the field. The Buffalo Soldiers were disbanded by President Truman in 1948 when the slow process of fully integrating the United States Army began. The oldest living member of the Buffalo Soldiers, Mark Matthews, died on September 6, 2005 at the age of 111. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. It is through the efforts of individuals like Rogers and others that the legacy and bravery of the Buffalo Soldiers will be long remembered.

There are several Buffalo Soldier chapters across North Carolina, including Greensboro.

Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved :: Carolina Peacemaker

 

                                                

                 

        1LT John R. Fox                                                                  1LT Vernon J. Baker

On Veterans Day, 2010, I salute World War II veteran and former Private First Class Willie Lee Woodruff.  It was Uncle Will, my first baseball hero, who told war stories that I overheard in 1952.  His stories of a segregated US Army have stayed with me throughout my life.  It was not until 2008 that I connected Uncle Will's stories of ferocious fighting in Italy with President Bill Clinton's presentation of the Medal of Honor in 1997 to honor seven heroic American fighting men.  Two of the seven men served in the 92nd Infantry Division (Colored), also known as the Buffalo Division, under LTG Mark Clark and MG Edward Almond.  My child's mind remembered General Clark's name because it rhymed.  The 92nd's commanding general was Ned Almond.  His regimental and battalion leaders were white.

The novel, Will and Dena, reveals how MG Almond dismantled the African American-led 366th Infantry Regiment and assigned it piecemeal to white-led regiments in the 92nd.  In 1972, General Almond remained resolute in his belief that "colored soldiers" should not be allowed in combat units - only military service groups.

Will and Dena is dedicated to the memory of 1LT John R. Fox, the men of the 366th, and the Italian Partisans who volunteered and fought beside them.  1LT Fox, an artillery forward observer, died shortly after dawn on the day after Christmas in 1944 when he purposely called for artillery fire on his own position and the large number of German soldiers who had surrounded him.  President Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to 1LT Fox's widow in 1997.

1LT Vernon Baker was the only one of the seven African American soldiers still alive in 1997 when President Clinton made his presentation of the Medal of Honor.  1LT Baker received our nation's highest tribute for valor with grace and humility.  He led the heavy weapons platoon in Company C, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division.  1LT Baker passed away at age 90 in 2010.

The official US Army citations for both soldiers are included below.  The citations describe in detail the valiant actions in combat of these two heroic American fighting men.

John R. Fox
     First Lieutenant, U.S. Army

General Order:

Citation:

For extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy in the vicinity of Sommocolonia, Italy on 26 December 1944, while serving as a member of Cannon Company, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92d Infantry Division. During the preceding few weeks, Lieutenant Fox served with the 598th Field Artillery Battalion as a forward observer. On Christmas night, enemy soldiers gradually infiltrated the town of Sommocolonia in civilian clothes, and by early morning the town was largely in hostile hands. Commencing with a heavy barrage of enemy artillery at 0400 hours on 26 December 1944, an organized attack by uniformed German units began. Being greatly outnumbered, most of the United States Infantry forces were forced to withdraw from the town, but Lieutenant Fox and some other members of his observer party voluntarily remained on the second floor of a house to direct defensive artillery fire.
     

At 0800 hours, Lieutenant Fox reported that the Germans were in the streets and attacking in strength. He then called for defensive artillery fire to slow the enemy advance. As the Germans continued to press the attack towards the area that Lieutenant Fox occupied, he adjusted the artillery fire closer to his position. Finally he was warned that the next adjustment would bring the deadly artillery right on top of his position. After acknowledging the danger, Lieutenant Fox insisted that the last adjustment be fired as this was the only way to defeat the attacking soldiers. Later, when a counterattack retook the position from the Germans, Lieutenant Fox's body was found with the bodies of approximately 100 German soldiers.
            

Lieutenant Fox's gallant and courageous actions, at the supreme sacrifice of his own life, contributed greatly to delaying the enemy advance until other infantry and artillery units could reorganize to repel the attack. His extraordinary valorous actions were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

Vernon J. Baker
     First Lieutenant, U.S. Army

General Order:

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life own life above and beyond the call of duty in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, Lieutenant Baker advanced at the head of his weapons platoon, along with Company C's three rifle platoons, toward their objective; Castle Aghinolfi-a German mountain strong point on the high ground just east of the coastal highway and about two miles from the 370th Infantry Regiment's line of departure.

Moving more rapidly than the rest of the company, Lieutenant Baker and about 25 men reached the south side of a draw some 250 yards from the castle within two hours. In reconnoitering for a suitable position to set up a machine gun, Lieutenant Baker observed two cylindrical objects pointing out of a slit in a mount at the edge of a hill. Crawling up and under the opening, he stuck his M-1 into the slit and emptied the clip, killing the observation post's two occupants. Moving to another position in the same area, Lieutenant Baker stumbled upon a well-camouflaged machine gun nest, the crew of which was eating breakfast. He shot and killed both enemy soldiers.

After Captain John F. Runyon, Company C's Commander, joined the group, a German soldier appeared from the draw and hurled a grenade which failed to explode. Lieutenant Baker shot the enemy soldier twice as he tried to flee. Lieutenant Baker then went down into the draw alone. There he blasted open the concealed entrance to another dugout with a hand grenade, shot one German soldier who emerged after the explosion, tossed another grenade into the dugout and entered firing his submachine gun, killing two more Germans. As Lieutenant Baker climbed back out of the draw, enemy machine gun and mortar fire began to inflict heavy casualties among the group of 25 soldiers, killing or wounding about two-thirds of them.

When expected reinforcements did not arrive, Capt. Runyon ordered a withdrawal in two groups. Lieutenant Baker volunteered to cover the withdrawal of the first group, which consisted of mostly walking wounded, and to remain to assist in the evacuation of the more seriously wounded. During the second group's withdrawal, Lieutenant Baker, supported by covering fire from one of his platoon members, destroyed two machine gun position (previously bypassed during the assault) with hand grenades. In all, Lieutenant Baker accounted for nine dead enemy soldiers, elimination of three machine gun positions, an observation post, and a dugout. On the following night, Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the military service.

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eBook reader trends

Did you recently put off answering for yourself the questions, "If there is an ebook reader out there that's just right for me, how will I find it?  When will I have the time to do purchase research?  Or, should I just buy the model my friend bought?"  Have you already answered the question, "Are ebook titles growing as fast as the marketing and blog hype about the sales of ebook readers?" 

The answers are not easy and could take a considerable amount of time.  In the end, only you will be able to sort through the significant number of features offered by the many ebook reader manufacturers and find the right product for your eyes, your need for color, or your preferred reading locations.

Included below are several links that may shorten your search time considerably.  Several side-by-side comparisons were selected that display as many as sixteen ranked brands and the published features of each listed in easy to read tables.  Two comparisons rank the listed ebook readers and provide an all important guide for selecting the one best suited for your wants and needs.

The growth in ebook titles in this decade is illustrated in the chart below created by The International Digital Publishing Forum.  Note that the first two quarters of this year far exceed the sales total for several of the preceding years.  When readers find the titles they seek, they are buying.

Will and Dena: Love and Life in World War II, by Bob Rogers, is available in document formats for these and other ebook readers: Agebook, Alex, Barnes & Noble (Nook), BeBook, Bookeen, Boox 60, eClicto, eGriver, Elonex, ES600, Hanlin, Interead, iPad, iPapyrus, iRex, italica, Hanvon, Kindle, Kobo, Kogan, Pocketbook, Sony, Stanza, smartphones, and computers.  Will and Dena for these readers can be purchased and downloaded at:  http://www.bobrogers.biz/id2.html

Links to top ranked ebook reader comparisons are:

http://ebook-reader-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers

http://www.consumersearch.com/ebook-readers/compare

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 http://www.historiccharleston.org/experience/arh/

If your vacation plans include Charleston, SC this summer, a "must see" stop is the Aiken-Rhett House at 48 Elizabeth Street.  The Aiken-Rhett House will take you to 1858 and let you see the splendor of one of Charleston's premier urban mansions, complete with dormitory-like quarters for enslaved African Americans.  The house is now a museum and owned by the Historic Charleston Foundation.  Use the link above to visit the Foundation's Aiken-Rhett House web page and make plans for your visit.

During my stopover this spring at the Aiken-Rhett House, members of the Foundation's staff provided important assistance in my quest to familiarize myself with William Aiken, his family, and the source of his wealth.  William Aiken, Jr. served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate prior to his election as governor.  In the 1850s, Governor Aiken served three terms in the United States House of Representatives.  Given the opportunity to spend hours pouring over personal correspondence of the Aiken family and survey their former home, I was able to envision and describe and write a scene within one of their high society balls in my forthcoming novel, First Dark. 

My next novel is set during America's Civil War, Reconstruction, and Indian Wars.  Five excerpts from Chapter 2 of the novel, told from the point of view a twenty three year old servant woman named Bianca, appear below.  I am grateful to the staff of the Historic Charleston Foundation for going above and beyond the call of duty to unearth a treasure-trove of unpublished Aiken documents that support this and other chapters in First Dark. 

. . .

# # #

 92nd Infantry Division troops in the Po Valley, Italy, April-1945. Courtesy of the National Archives. 

  
In 1972, Ned Almond told the US Army’s Chief of Military History:  “I do not agree that integration improves military efficiency; I believe it weakens it.... The basic characteristics of Negro and white are fundamentally different and these basic differences must be recognized by those responsible for integration.... There is no question in my mind of the inherent difference in races. This is not racism – it is common sense and understanding. Those who ignore these differences merely interfere with the combat effectiveness of battle units.”

 

Major General Edward M. (Ned) Almond was the commanding general of the 92^nd Infantry Division from 1942 until 1945.  He was responsible for training (1942-44) and leading the division during combat in Italy (1944-45).

 

In November of 1944, the all-black 366^th Infantry Regiment was attached to the 92^nd.  Corporal Will Wallace, Jr. and his friends (see my novel: Will and Dena) in the 2nd Battalion, 366^th Infantry Regiment were present when the entire regiment assembled at Livorno, Italy to hear Ned Almond’s “welcome speech.” 

 

The late Captain Hondon B. Hargrove served in the 92^nd Infantry Division and authored the book, Buffalo Soldiers in Italy: Black Americans in World War II.  According to Captain Hargrove, General Almond told the 366^th in his welcome speech, “I didn’t ask for you.  I don’t need you.  You’re here because your Negro newspapers have seen fit to cause you to be brought over here; now I’m going to see that you suffer your share of the casualties.”

 

The stories I heard as a boy, while eavesdropping on my uncles telling my father tales from Italy about Generals Mark Clark and Ned Almond, have never been far from my mind.  From my childhood memories, the Korean War was raging at the time I heard these stories.  Ned Almond’s name contended well with the Dodgers - Yankees rivalry of the early 1950s as a topic of discussion when the men of my family gathered.  Almond was in the news again because he led the US Army’s X Corps in Korea.  My kinsmen argued that during World War II, the black enlisted men of the 92^nd Infantry Division had “two enemies” – Ned and the Germans.  These men bitterly alleged that Almond’s strategies amounted to the use of black troops as cannon fodder.

 

During World War II, the army brass considered the performance of the 92^nd as poor.  Ned Almond took the extraordinary step of blaming the failure of the division under his command on his Negro troops.  Further, he recommended that Negro troops never again be employed in combat roles by the army.
  

Military Historians have made the opposite conclusion.  They attribute the 92^nd’s poor showing directly to Ned Almond and his command policies and strategies.  Among the august historians making this conclusion were Ulysses Lee, the author of The Employment of Negro Troops in World War II (Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1966) and Major Paul Goodman, author of "A Fragment of Victory: The 92^nd Infantry Division in Italy During World War II, 1942-45" (Carlisle Barracks, PA: Army War College, 1952).  Major Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D., wrote an award-winning essay on the impact of segregation on African Americans in the military — “Recipe for Failure: Major General Edward M. Almond and the Preparation of the U.S. 92^nd Infantry Division for Combat in World War II” — which appeared in the July 1992 issue of the Journal of Military History. 
  
Not until 1997, did 92^nd Infantry Division veterans Lieutenants John Fox (posthumously) and Vernon Baker receive the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions against German forces in 1944 and 1945.
    

In Will and Dena, readers are given the opportunity to see the effects of Ned Almond’s method of “handling Negro troops” from the point of view of privates and corporals.  Readers follow Will and his army buddies as they react, discuss, and cope with the orders that are passed down to them.
  

Click “Bob’s Books” on the left edge of this page and order your copy of Will and Dena. 

  
© 2010 by BBBR.  All Rights Reserved.