Vignettes from the WWII, Holocaust, and Post-War Era

The 320 th Barrage Balloon Battalion flew 141 hydrogen-filled balloons tethered by steel cables in the D-Day invasion June 6, 1944. Over 1,000 African American troops provided protection for the Allied troops landing on the beaches. The steel cables were a severe ariel-shredding hazard to German planes. Some cables carried an explosive device which would detonate against Nazi aircraft. The balloons forced the Nazi planes to higher altitudes which reduced the accuracy of their attacks on naval ships, landing ship tanks (LST’s) unloading troops onto the beaches, and the men below. Racist-white officers thought Buffalo Soldiers were not combat worthy. The 320 th was the only African American combat unit to land on the beaches of Normandy.  Find your own, Diana Dissette Mission Statement : I must write about the Holocaust to teach human beings, so never again will people in our towns and villages fear for their lives. My WWII & Holocaust books are historical fiction mysteries wh...

African American troops gave combat support by laying  minefields, portable roads, clearing booby-traps, and fought as infantry when lines were breached. The U. S. Armed Forces were not integrated until 1948; only ten U. S. Divisions were not segregated. Over one million African Americans fought in the armed forces. The old railroad term “red ball” marked top priority, high-speed trains for time-sensitive cargo. African American drivers hauled fuel, ammunition, and supplies to the front lines across France in a 24/7 convoy of 6,000 vehicles because the rail networks were bombed. The “Red Ball Express” moved at night, under enemy fire, and transported 400,000 tons of supplies in 83 days. The Buffalo soldiers replaced lost infantry troops and helped turn the tide of the German offensive. Find your own, Diana Dissette Mission Statement : I must write about the Holocaust to teach human beings, so never again will people in our towns and villages fear for their lives. My WWII & Hol...

The U. S. War Department during WWII was led by racists who viewed Africa American soldiers as unsuitable for combat. The soldiers were tasked with support and labor battalions, freight delivery, and kitchen work. The Tuskegee Airmen of the Mediterranean Airforce 99 th Pursuit Squad, 332 nd Fighter Group, and the 761 st the Black Panthers for Patton’s Tank Battalion served late in the war due to a critical need for manpower. The Buffalo Soldiers served in Italy in the winter of 1944. 100,000 troops were moved to Normandy which left the Allies vulnerable to the dug-in Nazis at the Gustav and Gothic defense lines. The Division patch bore a black buffalo on a green background; the soldiers so named by the Native Americans. The African American cavalry soldiers of the 1800’s were fierce fighters like their sacred buffalo, brave, and tenacious. Black soldiers had the spirit of a charging buffalo and a physical resemblance to the warriors of the Plains with black curly hair and dark skin....