Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: bruinbirdman
Fine.. I missed a zero...
If you want to use that to justify the position that excluding blacks was OK by you, then more power to you..

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/113171.html
Read the article for yourself..

Just in case you're not interested in reading how blacks feel about this issue in full, here's an excerpt..

Melton McLaurin, author of the forthcoming The Marines of Montford Point and an accompanying documentary to be released in February, says that there were hundreds of black soldiers on Iwo Jima from the first day of the 35-day battle. Although most of the black marine units were assigned ammunition and supply roles, the chaos of the landing soon undermined the battle plan.

"When they first hit the beach the resistance was so fierce that they weren't shifting ammunition, they were firing their rifles," said Dr McLaurin.
Roland Durden, another black marine, landed on the beach on the third day. "When we hit the shore we were loaded with ammunition and the Japanese hit us with mortar." Private Durden was soon assigned to burial detail, "burying the dead day in, day out. It seemed like endless days. They treated us like workmen rather than marines."

"The people carrying the ammunition were 90% black, so that's an opportunity to show black soldiers. These are our films and very often they become our history, historical documents." Yvonne Latty, a New York University professor and author of We Were There: Voices of African-American Veterans (2004), wrote to Eastwood and the film's producers pleading with them to include the experience of black soldiers. HarperCollins, the book's publishers, sent the director a copy, but never heard back.

19 posted on 10/23/2006 1:07:28 AM PDT by Drammach (Freedom... Not just a job, it's an adventure..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies ]


To: Drammach

There's a whole Pima Indian in the famous photo. What % of the troops were Indians? Were they over represented in the picture or the movie? How many Hispanics were on the Island? Nissi? Racism, I tell you.


20 posted on 10/23/2006 1:16:44 AM PDT by bruinbirdman ("Those who control language control minds. " - Ayn Rand)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies ]

To: Drammach
My uncle, a white guy, was KIA WW2 ETO. He was in an armored division which is 17,000 men. Looking at Signal Corps photos in the history books of his division, I have seen 3 blacks. The rosters show, Polish, French, Spanish, German, etc surnames. There was one American Indian in his company [280 men] and one Chinese. Do you want history or a black ex football player running at a MG nest to take it out.
26 posted on 10/23/2006 3:04:46 AM PDT by tiger-one (The night has a thousand eyes)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson