Black Silent Service

Black history in America is a very, very interesting subject. One of our points of shame has been that we are just beginning to recognize the contributions black Americans have made to our country, voluntarily and involuntarily.

My interest has been piqued because a black friend of mine occasionally posts items of black history on FB. There is some very interesting stuff there.

It is generally assumed that integration of the US military really didn't start until after WW2. For most of the military up to that time, any serving blacks were in all-black units, and typically not combat units.

While prepping for my medical procedure, I had nothing to do but sit and watch the TV. I broke out a documentary I have on the history of submarine warfare in WW2 that I haven't watched in quite awhile. There is lots of archived footage in the documentary. In that footage there are glimpses of blacks serving as crew members on various submarines in a variety of roles.

It is apparent, from the footage, that the submarine service in WW2 was integrated.  It is interesting what might happen when you are hungry for the very best.