Blood for Dignity: The Story of the First Integrated Combat Unit in the U.S. Army

Meticulously researched and wonderfully suspenseful, Blood for Dignity is the tale of a fascinating and little-known piece of World War II American history, seen through the eyes of 5th Platoon, K Company, 394th Regiment, 99th Division--the first black unit integrated with a white infantry company since the Revolutionary War. David P. Colley paints an absorbing, combat-heavy portrait of these African American and white men fighting together for their country—an historical event whose resonance would be felt for generations, and whose lesson would be transposed onto American society, shattering myths and destroying assumptions that had haunted blacks for years. The integration of African American platoons with white combat units at the tail end of World War II almost didn’t happen. With the pressing need for more troops and the vision of men such as Dwight Eisenhower, black soldiers who only wanted to fight for their country were finally given the opportunity in March of 1945. The performance of these soldiers laid to rest the accepted white attitude of a century and a half that African Americans were cowardly and inferior fighters. In fact, they proved to be just the opposite. From basic training in the deep south, to hard labor in Europe, these men traveled a long and difficult road before they could take up arms for their country. The 5th of K finally saw combat at the Remagen Bridgehead as they fought side-by-side with white soldiers, driving back a dangerous German army in 1945. Thanks to in-depth interviews with many of those who fought in and alongside the 5th of K, author David P. Colley mixes the horrors of war with the intensely personal in a way that brings us closer to the brave men of this Platoon—a group of soldiers whom readers will come to know and admire and not soon forget.

History

Colley, David P.

Military

St.Martin's Press

The integration of black platoons in 1945 represents the first time since the American Revolution that African American soldiers were integrated into white combat units. The experiences of these soldiers were truly radical and a harbinger of things to come. Clearly, these black infantrymen planted the seeds of integration in the army--and the nation. Blood for Dignity tells the story of these soldiers through the eyes of 5th platoon, K Company, 394th Regiment, 99th Division--the first integrated combat unit since the Revolutionary War. These men were involved in heavy combat at the Remagen Bridgehead and several other critical junctures as they drove back the German army. The performance of these men laid to rest the accepted white attitude of a century and a half that blacks were cowardly and inferior fighters. In fact, they proved to be just the opposite. Author David Colley interviewed many of the members of the 99th. Their accounts along with years of reseach paint a gripping, combat-heavy portrait of young men fighting together for their nation. For as they will tell you, in combat situations, prejudice and the color line disappears.

St. Martin's: Griffin

Looks at a little-known episode of World War II, the operation that lasted from 1945 to 1950 and involved the repatriation and location of more than 250,000 of America's war dead, drawing on the recollections of survivors and the letters and personal histories of the dead themselves.

SAFELY REST

The Berkley Publishing Group

The true story of a bunch of tough-as-nails drivers who, during three pivotal months of World War II, operated the "Red Ball Express", is told through firsthand accounts. Almost all African Americans, these truckers rushed fuel and supplies to the rapidly advancing American armies desperately needed after D-Day to crush the German Panzers.

The Road to Victory: The Untold Story of World War II's Red Ball Express

Grand Central Publishing

Decision at Strasbourg relates the remarkable and largely unknown story of Lt. General Jacob Devers' lost opportunity to launch a bold attack into the heart of Nazi Germany, which may have won the European war in late 1944, six months before Victory-over-Europe (V-E) Day in May 1945. Devers' Sixth Army Group, comprising the U.S. Seventh and First French Armies, made successful amphibious landings near Marseille in August 1944 and advanced 450 miles through southern France before reaching the banks of the Rhine in Alsace on 24 November 1944. Once on the Rhine, Devers' was presented with an unexpected strategic opportunity to cross the river and advance into Germany, where the Group could seal off the German 19th Army in Alsace and maneuver behind the German 1st Army, fighting General George S. Patton's Third Army in Lorraine. Devers hoped this bold maneuver would collapse the southern enemy front opposite the U.S. Seventh and Third Armies and possibly lead to the disintegration of the entire enemy front, from Switzerland to the Netherlands, bringing about a swift end to the war in Europe. The Rhine was the principal objective of the allied armies fighting in France. Allied generals realized its strategic importance, as did German generals, who understood that if Allied forces crossed the Rhine, Germany was doomed. Devers never breached the Rhine in 1944. The Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight Eisenhower, ordered Dever's planned assault halted a day before it was to proceed. Ike's decision to forego this opportunity meant that the allies would not cross the Rhine until March 1945.To date, historians have not explained fully why Eisenhower stopped Devers, who was deeply angered by the order; nor have they analyzed the possible outcome of such an attack. Decision at Strasbourg does just this, exploring what might have occurred had Ike allowed Devers to cross the river. Colley judiciously cites the opinions of many high-ranking generals, including Patton, that the attack would have been a bold and likely successful maneuver that might have ended the war months earlier and saved thousands of American lives.In rolling out this alternative historical perspective, the author offers unique insight regarding Eisenhower and the Supreme Command in Europe during WWII, illuminating the potential consequences of Ike's cautious leadership and his rejection of General Devers and his strategy, largely because of his dislike and lack of confidence in the Sixth Army Group commander. Colley points to Ike's reliance on old friends and colleagues, sometimes regardless of ability, and how the conduct of WWII in Europe was determined by personal amities and animosities--a worthy study for future military leaders seeking to take advantage of unique battlefield opportunities.

Decision at Strasbourg: Ike's Strategic Mistake to Halt the Sixth Army Group at the Rhine in 1944

Naval_Institute_Press

The faces in photographs of World War II--both the famous pictures from Life magazine and the seldom-seen snapshots of individual soldiers, sailors, and correspondents--have a unique capacity to induce awe, respect, and wonder. Who were these men and women? Did they survive the war? And, if so, what were their lives like? Author and Vietnam-era veteran David P. Colley has been researching the subjects of World War II photographs for more than twenty years. As he explains, "I find the pursuit of the soldiers in World War II photographs illuminating. We never stop and ask about the toll of war or what happened to the men afterward. Many were killed or wounded or suffered deep psychological scars. The year 2015 marks the seventieth anniversary of the end of that war. It will undoubtedly be one of the last times this nation honors its living World War II veterans. Soon they will be no more and the war mostly forgotten. It already is ancient history to the majority of Americans. But the images of those veterans, depicted in photographs, bring alive those momentous years and enshrine the soldiers in our history and our imaginations." In Seeing the War, Colley revisits more than a hundred of the most revealing photographs of World War II.

Seeing the War: The Stories Behind the Famous Photographs from World War II

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Foredge

"Throughout the book, Colley uses postwar comments by German generals to support his arguments." -- New York Journal of Books Imagine how many lives would have been saved had the war in Europe finished in December 1944 instead of five months later... David Colley analyzes critical mistakes made by the Allied supreme commander, General Dwight Eisenhower, in the last nine months of the war. He argues that had Eisenhower been more adept at taking advantage of several potential breakthroughs in the Siegfried Line in the fall of 1944 the war in the European Theater of Operations might have ended sooner.The book details the American penetration of the Siegfried Line in mid-September and their advance into Germany at Wallendorf before the troops were called back. It also examines in detail operations in the Stolberg Corridor and the actions of General Lucian Truscott. It compares the battles at Wallendorf and Stolberg with Operation Market Garden, and assesses the effectiveness of these operations and the use of the troops. Eisenhower later called off another operation in November 1944, already in progress, to cross the Rhine and destroy the German 1st Army north of Strasbourg. American and German generals believe this operation would have shortened the war.The Folly of Generals explores these potential breakthroughs--along with other strategic and tactical mistakes in the ETO and in Italy, some never before revealed--that might have shortened the war by a considerable margin.

The Folly of Generals: How Eisenhower’s Broad Front Strategy Lengthened World War II

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Casemate

Right in the heart of one of the nation's most densely populated urban areas sits an idyllic realm of graceful meadows, dense woods, placid lakes, and fresh air. Brooklyn's 585-acre Prospect Park offers a rural refuge to thousands of visitors every day. Created nearly 150 years ago by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert B. Vaux, designers of New York's Central Park, the duo considered Prospect Park their true masterpiece. Prospect Park, the first monograph on this exquisite public space, makes it easy to see why. Presenting a wealth of archival and newly commissioned photography and insightful text, David P. Colley and Elizabeth Keegin Colley trace the park's colorful history from its creation in the mid-nineteenth century to its decline in the 1970s and restoration in the 1980s, up to the park's new Lakeside Center facility, scheduled to open in 2013.

Prospect Park: Olmsted and Vaux's Brooklyn Masterpiece

Colley, Elizabeth Keegin

Princeton Architectural Press

Decision at Strasbourg relates the remarkable and largely unknown story of Lt. General Jacob Devers' lost opportunity to launch a bold attack into the heart of Nazi Germany, which may have won the European war in late 1944, six months before Victory-over-Europe (V-E) Day in May 1945.

Decision at Strasbourg: Ike's Strategic Mistake to Halt the Sixth Army Group at the Rhine in 1944 (Association of the United States Army)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Colley, David P.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Colley, David P.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Colley, David P.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Blood for Dignity: The Story of the First Integrated Combat Unit in the U.S. Army

Blood for Dignity: The Story of the First Integrated Combat Unit in the U.S. Army

SAFELY REST

The Road to Victory: The Untold Story of World War II's Red Ball Express

Decision at Strasbourg: Ike's Strategic Mistake to Halt the Sixth Army Group at the Rhine in 1944

Seeing the War: The Stories Behind the Famous Photographs from World War II

The Folly of Generals: How Eisenhower’s Broad Front Strategy Lengthened World War II

Prospect Park: Olmsted and Vaux's Brooklyn Masterpiece

Decision at Strasbourg: Ike's Strategic Mistake to Halt the Sixth Army Group at the Rhine in 1944 (Association of the United States Army)