Unsung heroes: my sole desire was to write a book on black veterans using their words, to pay tribute to soldiers, sailors and nurses who had never gotten recognition.My book We Were There: Voices of African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. Veterans From World War II to the War in Iraq (Amistad, March 2004, $23.95, ISBN ISBNabbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-060-54217-9) really began at my dinner table more than 30 years ago where my father, Albert Latty, a World War II veteran, would launch into stories of his war experiences. He dropped out of high school to enlist in the Navy. He served stateside state·side adj. 1. Of or in the continental United States. 2. Alaska Of or in the 48 contiguous states of the United States. adv. Informal 1. in the South. His war turned out to be knocks by white soldiers and Southerners who treated my soft-spoken, Harlem-born father as though he were not even human. He talked about water fountains marked "Colored Only" and the humiliating hu·mil·i·ate tr.v. hu·mil·i·at·ed, hu·mil·i·at·ing, hu·mil·i·ates To lower the pride, dignity, or self-respect of. See Synonyms at degrade. day he was forced to sit in the back of the bus while in uniform. Yet he also talked with pride about his job as a Navy steward, how he stocked shelves in the ship store. His only regret was not signing up for another tour. I never could understand why he fought for a country that treated him so badly. About three years ago, I was at my desk at the Philadelphia Daily News The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker. In its early years, it was dominated by crime stories, sports and sensationalism. By 1930, daily circulation of the morning paper exceeded 200,000. , where I am a reporter, when a Vietnam veteran called to urge me to write an obituary about his hero, George Ingram, a WWII WWII abbr. World War II WWII World War Two submarine Navy steward. When he served, George had many skills but was reduced to washing dishes, serving food and doing the laundry, the only jobs blacks were allowed to have in the Navy at that time. One rainy night be saved the life of a crewman who was trapped on the submarine's lookout tower. It took 50 years for George to talk about his service. He never got any recognition and wanted to forget the racism. After writing that obituary, my sole desire was to pay tribute in black veterans like George. I wanted to write a book using their words and photographs of what they looked like when they served, as well as contemporary photographs. I also wanted the book to be accessible to all readers and not just history buffs. I bought How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larson (Writer's Digest Books, September 1997) and spent the next nine months creating a book proposal. The 35-page proposal included two stories and an introduction in which I wrote about George Ingram and how, despite the abundance of war films and books, black soldiers and nurses are virtually invisible in military history. I wrote of how I believed that during these uncertain times, after September 11, Americans were experiencing a new appreciation for those who serve our country. My next step was finding an agent. I picked up the 2002 Guide to Literary Agents, edited by Rachel Vater (Writer's Digest Books, November 2001) and sent out a dozen query letters. My first choice, Diana Finch of Ellen Levine Literary Agency, got back to me in less than 48 hours. The agency had represented several popular photo/essay books. I still had no photographer, however. Diana suggested I choose someone local whose work I really admired. Ron Tarver came to mind. Besides working as a photojournalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer--the newspaper that is our competition and corporate sister--he had a thriving fine-arts photography career. A few months later, Dawn Davis, executive editor HarperCollins Publishers and editorial director of Amistad Press, acquired We Were There. We received a modest advance, so I had to abandon the idea of traveling around the country to meet all the veterans; most had to be local, with a few exceptions. The advance did allow me to take several months off work to research and write. I spent more than a year writing We Were There. Finding the veterans was a big challenge. I used the Internet, newspaper articles, veteran's organizations, friends, museums and the military. I looked for veterans who were at Pearl Harbor, at D day and in the jungles of Vietnam, but also those who never raised a gun in battle. When I found the veterans, I interviewed them repeatedly for hours. I rejected no one. I believed if they served, they had a story to tell, and it was my job to get it. In many cases, I was the first person they had ever talked to about their war experiences. I am haunted by their words: The veterans make me want to be a better person. If I'm having a bad day, I think about World War II Army nurse Margaritte Gertrude Bertram-Ivory tending to wounded men alone because the white nurses wouldn't work with her. She told me, "The soldiers didn't care what color I was. They just needed help" Many of the opportunities I and other African Americans have today are because of what she and others endured. My father died six years ago at age 70, so he never got a chance to know how closely I had been listening to him. My book is a thank-you to him and all the men and women who have served. It is a celebration, in their own words, of their victories. I compiled 28 stories, but there are hundreds of thousands more. Veterans are in our neighborhoods, our churches, our offices and even sitting next to you on the bus. Listen to them and in their voices you'll hear American history. GLORY AND HONOR: A Sampling of Books About African American Service in the Military After the Glory: The Struggle of Black Civil War Veterans by Donald R. Shaffer University Press of Kansas The University Press of Kansas is a publisher that represents the state universities in Kansas (Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University.). , July 2004, $34.95 ISBN 0-700-61328-5 African American Recipients of the Medal Honor by Charles W. Hanna McFarland & Company, Inc., August 2002 $45.00, ISBN 0-786-41355-7 American Patriots by Gail Buckley Random House Children's Books, January 2003, $15.95, ISBN 0-375-82243-7 Blacks in the United Sates Army: Portraits Through History edited by Martha S. Putney, McFarland & Company, Inc. May 2003, $45.00, ISBN 0-788-41593-2 Black Soldiers in Blue edited by John David Smith John David Smith (October 1786 – March 1849) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New York City in 1786, the son of Elias Smith, a United Empire Loyalist. He came to the site of what is now Port Hope with his family in 1797. , The University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina. External link
Blood for Dignity by David P. Colley St. Martin's Press, February 2003 $24.95, ISBN 0-312-32580-0 Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. by Black Veterans by Wallace Terry Ballantine Books (reissue edition) July 1985 $6.99, ISBN O-345-31197-3 Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Walton, The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, May 2004, $24.95 ISBN 0-385-50338-5 Buffalo Soldiers: The Colored Regulars in the United States Army United States Army Major branch of the U.S. military forces, charged with preserving peace and security and defending the nation. The first regular U.S. fighting force, the Continental Army, was organized by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, to supplement local by T.G Steward Humanity Books. September 2003 $18.00 ISBN 1-591-02107-3 The Buffalo Soldier: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West by William H. Leckie With Shirley A. Leckie University Of Oklahoma Press The University of Oklahoma Press is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. It has been in operation for over seventy-five years, and was the first university press established in the American Southwest. , August 2003 $29.95. ISBN 0-8061-3523-9 Campfires of Freedom: The Camp Life of Black Soldiers During the Civil War by Keith P. Wilson, Kent State University Press November 2002, $39.00, ISBN 087338-709-0 Daniel "Chappie chappie Noun Informal a man or boy " James, The First African American Four Star General by Earnest N. Bracey McFarland & Company, Inc,, May 2003 $29.95. ISBN 0786-41445-6 Fighting in the Jim Crow Army: Black Men and Woman Remember WWII by Maggi M. Morehuese, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, Inc., December 2000, $29.95 ISBN 0-847-69193-4 Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War by James E. Westheider, New York University Press New York University Press (or NYU Press), founded in 1916, is a university press that is part of New York University. External link
For Race and Country: The Life and Career of Colonel Charles Young by David P. Kilroy, Praeger, November 2003 $67.95 ISBN 0-275-98005-7 Freedom's Journey: African American Voices of the Civil War edited by Donald Yacovone, Lawrence Hill Books, February 2004. $40.00, ISBN 1-556-52511-7 Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African American 369th Infantry in WWI WWI abbr. World War I WWI World War One by Stephen L. Harris, Brassey's Inc., June 2003, $29.95, ISBN 1-574-88386-0 The Hellfighter's of Harlem by Bill Harris Carroll & Graf Publishers, November 2002 $25.00, ISBN 0-786-71050-0 Honoring Sergeant Carter: A Family's Journey to Uncover the Truth About an American Hero by Allene G. Carter and Robert L. Allen Robert Lee Allen (May 29, 1942 -) is an activist, writer, and Adjunct Professor of African-American Studies and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley[1]. Dr. Allen received his Ph.D. , HarperCollins Publishers February 2004, $12.95, ISBN 0-060-93673-8 The Messman Chronicle: African Americans in the U.S. Navy, 1923-1943 by Richard E. Miller, Naval Institute Press February 2003, $32.95, ISBN 1-55750-539-X The Negro in the American Rebellion: His Heroism and His Fidelity by William Wells Brown William Wells Brown (November 6, 1814 – November 6, 1884) was a prominent abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer. , Ohio University Press Ohio University Press is part of Ohio University. It publishes under its own name and the imprint Swallow Press. External links
Soldiers of Freedom: An Illustrated History of African Americans in the Armed Forces by Kai Wright, Black Dog & Leventhal Pubs. November 2002, $19.95, ISBN 1-579-12253-1 Soul Patrol by Ed Emanuel, Ballantine Books, August 2003, $6.99, ISBN 0-891-41817-2 Sword of Valor valor a rodenticide no longer marketed because of toxicity in horses causing dehydration, abdominal pain, hindlimb weakness, inappetence, fishy smell in urine. Called also N-3-pyridyl methyl N1-p-nitrophenyl urea. : The Black Sabre Chronicles by Tom Willard (Forge Books, July 2003 $24.95. ISBN 0-312-87385-9 Two Souls Indivisible INDIVISIBLE. That which cannot be separated. 2. It is important to ascertain when a consideration or a contract, is or is not indivisible. When a consideration is entire and indivisible, and it is against law, the contract is void in toto. 11 Verm. 592; 2 W. : The Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam by James S. Hirsch, Houghton Mifflin, May 2004 $25.00. ISBN 0-618-27348-4 The WWII Black Regiment That Built the Alaska Military Highway by William E. Griggs University Press of Mississippi The University Press of Mississippi, founded in 1970, is a publisher that is sponsored by the eight state universities in Mississippi:
Yvonne Larry is a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News. |
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