Wilson Monk (third from left) and other men from the 320th.

Wilson Monk (third from left) and other men from the 320th.

In 1948, not long after World War II ended, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which abolished racial discrimination in the military. But four years earlier, when allied troops stormed Normandy on June 6, 1944- what we now know as D-Day- the U.S. military was still holding onto segregation, much like the rest of America. On Veterans Day, we remember the men of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit of African American soldiers that landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.

Guests

  • Linda Hervieux Author, "Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War" (Harper)

PHOTOS: The Men Of The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion

"Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War" Excerpt

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