I have been hard at work on a project focused on Black women WWII #Veterans so as #VeteransDay approaches I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned in recent years that these books helped with. 
More than one million Black women and men served in every branch of the armed forces during WWII. They were seeking victory over fascism abroad & victory over racism at home - the Double V. Spoiler alert: It didn’t really work out.
But part of what these resources illuminate is what a powerful role institutions like the Black press & leaders in the Black Cabinet like Mary McLeod Bethune had advocating for them to serve in branches that were not yet integrated in the 1940s.
Some persistent racial and class inequities, especially the Black wealth gap, stem from gatekeepers that kept veterans from receiving the full benefits of the G.I. Bill, particularly because they could not buy homes.
I highly recommend @mattdelmont’s Half American to start. In it, he puts what I mentioned above more eloquently: “The inability of many Black WWII veterans to access GI Bill benefits and generate wealth…contributed significantly to the vast racial wealth gap in America.”
Immortal Valor helped me understand the many untold narratives of Black soldiers in various battles, along with the demeaning way famous Commanding Officers often treated and spoke about them.
Finally, I have not had a chance to read much of @lindahervieux’s book but I was fascinated to discover that Black folks were an essential part of an armed balloon battalion meant to deter enemy aircraft.
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