Compiled by Mary Penick Motley
Foreword by Howard Donavan Queen
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Overview
The Invisible Soldier: The Experience of the Black Soldier, World War II is a compilation of fifty-five oral histories detailing the experiences of Black servicemen during World War II. Compiled by Mary Penick Motley, with a foreword by Howard Donavan Queen, the book was first published by Wayne State University Press in 1975.
As described by the publisher, the interviews are "by turns shocking, nightmarish, despairing, bitterly ironic, and, in rare instances, full of laughter." The narratives reveal the brutality of the "unseen wars" Black servicemen fought—not only against enemy forces abroad, but against the official U.S. Army policy of segregation and the discriminatory attitudes encountered both in southern American communities and overseas.
The Invisible Soldier provides an essential contribution to the understanding of Black history and the complex realities faced by African Americans in the military during World War II.
Publication Details
- Publisher: Wayne State University Press
- Publication Year: 1975
- ISBN: 0-8143-1961-0