Gregory Freeman: Feat Of Arms, Place Of Pride. P-D 5/26/1996

Headline: FEAT OF ARMS, PLACE OF PRIDE
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Sun., May 26, 1996
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 6B, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

IT WAS December 1944, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower had given the word to call for black volunteers to be used as replacements in white infantry companies whose ranks had been decreased severely by the Battle of the Bulge.
Until then, blacks had not been allowed to fight; instead, they had been shunted to menial jobs far from the front lines. In Germany the decision was considered by some to be a social experiment - to see if blacks could fight in the same outfits as whites.
Heeding the call, 4,562 black GIs signed up for infantry duty, 2,500 were accepted for processing, and 2,221 were assigned to fight shoulder to shoulder with white soldiers in the same companies. Despite their heroic work, their efforts have been little more than footnotes in many history books.

Concerned that their story might be lost, one of the GIs - J.C. Wade of Irving, Texas - spearheaded a reunion of the men last year in Atlanta. This weekend, some 60 of the original 2,221 are meeting at the Holiday Inn Riverfront here for another reunion.
They plan to renew old acquaintances, share war stories and remember those who have died. They'll conclude on Monday with a memorial service at the Old Cathedral.
The men call themselves the Association of the 2221 Negro Volunteers - "2221" for short - and they're from all over the country. Only about 75 of them have been tracked down.

One of those attending is St. Louisan John D. Hemsley, who was in an all-white outfit known as the Timberwolves. Hemsley said he hadn't hesitated when Eisenhower put out the call.
"I had something to prove, " said Hemsley, looking considerably younger than his 75 years. "There were a lot of false things being said about black soldiers in those days, like we were afraid to fight and couldn't be trusted. People were saying give us a razor and we could cut somebody, but we couldn't handle a gun. I knew that wasn't true. After all, blacks had fought gallantly in World War I and even in the Civil War."

Hemsley and others had encountered racism by some white soldiers.
"I remember in England, a group of whites told the women not to fool with black soldiers, that we had tails, " he said. "We had to put up with a lot of that sort of thing."

Against such a backdrop, Hemsley and other members of the 2221 were ready to fight, to prove that they couldn't be stereotyped.
   By the end of the war, Hemsley and the others had proved themselves. Hemsley ended the war with the Combat Infantryman's Badge and two battle stars on his chest, plus the stripes of a technical sergeant on his sleeve.
   Hemsley became platoon sergeant of an all-black platoon that had been placed under a white officer. Even the selection of Hemsley as platoon sergeant was considered significant.
   "A white captain said to the men in our platoon, `The eyes of America are on you. Who do you want to be your leader?' The men chose me, and the captain agreed."
   Hemsley spoke highly of his fellow black soldiers. "The guys who volunteered - without exception - made excellent soldiers, " he said. "They were aggressive and knew what they wanted to do. Most of them were really good shots."

By war's end, Hemsley said, much of the tension between black and white soldiers had disappeared. "I came back on a ship, and there were only two blacks on the ship, and everything was decent and peaceful, " he said.

Hemsley felt the sting of prejudice when he arrived in St. Louis.
   "At Jefferson Barracks, I ran out to get a cab, and the cab drivers kept telling me they had full loads, " he said. "Finally, a cab stopped and said, `Well, I don't usually mix my loads (with black and white passengers).' "
   But white soldiers who were in the cab told the driver, "Hey, he fought with us, " and the driver relented, Hemsley said.
   "What'd the driver think?" Hemsley asked. "That I wanted to marry his daughter?"

Hemsley said he learned of other stories as well, such as an incident where a group of black and white soldiers had stopped at a hotel restaurant to eat and been told that blacks couldn't eat there.
"Everyone got up and left, black and white, " Hemsley said. "If the hotel wouldn't serve everybody, they weren't going to serve anybody."

Hemsley said he hoped more would learn about the pioneering efforts of the 2221. Even retired Gen. Colin Powell learned of the volunteers only a few years ago. The men have a letter of congratulations from the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"There were a lot of good black men who fought for this country, " Hemsley said. "I'm proud of all that we did."

Gregory Freeman's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday ... <deleted>

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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