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I've only seen one hour of this series, last night.

I liked some of the personal touches, albeit they were cliched and really heavy handed.

I didn't like the way segregation and racism were presented. Sure, they existed. However, Burns made it sound like blacks showed up to fight, and were deliberately kept out of it by the white brass. There was only one throwaway comment given by Patton in favor of them fighting.

I think that there are plenty of black units that would disagree. And I also think that the men of the RedBall Express (not even mentioned) would *really* disagree. The RedBall Express transported the supplies that kept the Allies fighting until Monty got off his butt, took Antwerp and cleared the Schwelde Estuary. Ever seen a truck convoy shot up by airpower? These guys faced that danger every day.

I doubt that I'll be watching any more of the show. Will flip on Band of Brothers instead.

I doubt that I'll be watching any more of the show. Will flip on
Band of Brothers instead.

I'll "soldier on" despite the down-sides up to this point.

That way I'll be able to critique it (from having seen it) when my
young niece and friends have to sit through it in high-school
history class.

I wish the guy who did the now-embargoed "The Path to 9-11" had
done this series instead of Burns.

“the men of the RedBall Express (not even mentioned)” ...........Keep watching, they haven’t reached late 1944 yet. The series is going year by year. I’m waiting to see if they mention the treatment of GI’s in Japanese PW camps where they ate their prisoners and randomly killed them.

However, Burns made it sound like blacks showed up to fight, and were deliberately kept out of it by the white brass.

Actually, with a very few notable exceptions like the Tuskegee Airman, which practically took a Presidential intervention to get into combat, that's exactly what happened. Black troops were segregated and kept in support units.

I agree with you that those black support units, such as those doing outstanding work on the Red Ball Express, performed very well and should be honored for their service.

It's an important part of the story. The WWII experience directly lead to post-war movements for rights for women and blacks. People saw women doing "mens work" and running households alone. It was hard to deny that the few blacks who got to combat performed superbly, leading to the desegregation of the Army right after the War. And Americans, black and white, from the North and West saw for the first time and first hand race segregation when they were stationed in the South. It had a profound effect on many.

It's part of our past. As President Bush has observed, it's part of the paradox how a slaveholding society became the primary beacon of freedom in the world.

Burns made it sound like blacks showed up to fight, and were deliberately kept out of it by the white brass.

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IOW....Burns got it right.