During World War I thousands of African-Americans were sent to Europe to fight, but they fought under the French flag. Many white Americans refused to consider the idea of a white soldier saluting a Black superior officer.
When the Black soldiers were assigned to the French command, General John Pershing issued a directive to the French commanders. He instructed the French to “treat black Americas as white Americans did,” and went on to say “we must not eat with them, must not shake hands or seek to talk or meet with them outside the requirements of military service. We must not commend too highly the black American troops, particularly in the presence of Americans. We must prevent the rise of any pronounced degree of intimacy between French officers and black.”
Two quick points:
The French ignored the directive.
The situation had not changed at the beginning of World War II.
The quote is from Paul Dickson, The Rise of the G.I. Army 1940-1941. N.Y.: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020. I recommend this book. It is an amazing account of how Gen. Marshall and FDR rebuilt the American armed forces prior to Pearl Harbor.
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