• “The genesis of the book dates to the end of World War II, to when I was a child and can recall, for the only time seeing my father, a Tuskegee Airmen, in his Army uniform.”
  • “As a teenager, my dad explained that, at the divisive time in our country’s history, all soon-to-be soldiers were divided in to two groups: Whites and Coloreds . . . “
  • “Colored soldiers were not initially trained for, and never expected to see, combat.”
  • “’This is a White man’s country . . . Negroes had nothing to do with the settling of America.’”
  • “’Why should Negroes fight for democracy abroad when they are refused democracy in every American activity, except tax paying?’”
  • “The conventional wisdom of D-Day is that there were no Black soldiers who landed on those beaches, but the truth is that there were almost 2,000 Black soldiers who landed by the end of the day June 6, 1944.”
  • “The army never intended to build and deploy Black battalions . . . the military hardly recognized them as humans.”
  • “Even Germany, the enemy, reported admitting to a high ranking U.S. officer that, of all American units, balloon companies were the ‘most efficient and effective.'”
  • “The Stars and Stripes military newspaper wrote that Woodson and other medics ‘covered themselves with glory on D-Day.'”
  • “’A Colored soldier cannot think fast enough to fight in armor.’”
  • “The South does not want Colored men to get any kind of military training; nothing frightens it worse than the thought of millions of Colored men with discipline, organizing power, and dangerous effectiveness. This is why the South is so bitterly opposed to universal military training.”
  • ” . . . Patton was surprised by the accomplishments of his all-Black 761st Tank Battalion hailing from the Jim Crow South.”
  • “’If you give those Niggers the best equipment you’ve got, give ‘em good food, I’ll take em.’” (Patton)
  • “’Individually, they were good soldiers, but I expressed my belief at the time and have never found the necessary of changing it—that a Colored soldier cannot think fast enough to fight in armor.’” (Patton)
  • “‘I have nothing but the best in my army. I do not care what color you are if you go up there and kill those Krauts sonsofbitches.’” (Patton)
  • “To the German Commander for his suggestion that the American unit surrender at the town of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge: ‘Nuts! —The American Commander'”
  • “’As fighting troops, the Negro must be rated as second-class material, this primarily due to his inferior intelligence and lack of mental and moral qualities.’” (World War I Commander)
  • “’The contribution of the women of America, whether on the farm or in the factory or in uniform, to D-Day was a sine qua non of the invasion effort.’” (Eisenhower)
  • “’Whatever made you ‘blankety-blank’ women think you could be soldiers?’” (Drill Sergeant)
  • “’We are the best WAC unit ever sent into a foreign theater . . . the eyes of the public will be upon us, waiting for one slip up in our good conduct or performance.’” (6888th Commander)
  • “’Send a White Lieutenant down to show her how to run the outfit.’” (White General)