Black Soldiers During Desegregation in Korea Photo Archive

Black Troops, 1940s-50s

Photo Archive

Black soldiers in the Korean War photo archive. 20 black and white photographs of African American soldiers in military uniform in the field in Korea. Photographs range in size from 2" x 2" to 3" x 5". These photos date from the years following Truman's 1948 executive order which forcefully integrated the armed forces. The bravery of black soldiers in WWII acted in tandem with a nascent civil rights movement to enact pressure on the federal government and make full integration of the armed forces a reality. The Korean War was fought from 1950 to 1953, the photos seem all to be from that conflict and era. Includes a set of photos of a black soldier with helmets and rifles and several images of black soldiers with jeeps or trucks on convoys on the roads in Korea. Many group shots of these black soldiers together. Desegregation of the Army in practice took several years because of the resistance of some top US generals, including Gen. Mac Arthur who led the U.S. troops in Korea. Almost all the images are showing the troops outdoors on the road, in the forest, or the mountains. The soldiers in Korea had to fight North Koreans and Chinese as well as the bitter cold winters and difficult landscape. One image has a long inscription on verso: "It was plenty cold that night, and a lot of snow, we had to sleep outside after riding 25 miles on uncovered trucks for 3 hrs.. boots were so cold I could hardly get them on..PFC Glenn Miller Dec 1951." An estimated 600,000 African Americans served in the armed forces during the Korean War; roughly 9.3% of Americans killed in Korea were African American. A handful photographs have some discoloration, but the vast majority are in very good condition.

Item #19210

Price: $1,850.00