Machine-gun fire and hand grenades exploded around Vernon Baker as he charged a castle held by German soldiers on April 5, 1945. His white commander turned back for help, but Second Lieutenant Baker refused to leave his black platoon mates. He stayed on the perilous Italian mountainside, blasting away German bunkers and gun posts.
One month later, the Germans surrendered and the Second World War soon ended. The Army handed out 433 Medals of Honor to its most courageous soldiers. But Baker's heroic actions were ignored. Not one of the 1.2 million African Americans who fought in World War II received the nation's highest military honor.
Last week seven black World War II soldiers finally received the Medal of Honor. Baker, now 77, was the only one alive to accept it, along with the nation's apologies for the long wait.
Forgotten Heroes
Like many African Americans, Baker was eager to join the armed forces when the U.S. entered World War II. Some saw the military as an escape from segregation
and the racist attitudes of Americans who were denying them jobs and rights. Most just wanted to protect their country.
But in the military, blacks were still in segregated units. Many were ordered to do menial jobs, like cleaning, while white soldiers stormed the battlefields. Others were not allowed to fly planes or steer ships.
"As a black soldier, I fought a war on two sides," said Baker. "We were all angry, but we had a job to do and we did it."
Heroic soldiers like Baker risked their lives for freedoms they did not fully share back home. More than 142,000 blacks died in World War II.
But the highest honor black soldiers were given for bravery was the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). Only nine African Americans received a DSC for service in the war.
Why were so many brave black soldiers overlooked? It was racism, pure and simple, according to relatives and fellow soldiers of the war heroes. For years they protested that the nine dscs should be upgraded to Medals of Honor.
David Williams, a white leader of an all-black battalion, was among the protesters. In 1944 he had watched as wounded Ruben Rivers led a tank attack on Germans in France. Rivers was killed in the courageous act.
Racism is a tougher enemy than the Germans, says Williams. Rivers, he observes, "was a cut above. He was a great soldier."
In 1993 a team of military historians was assigned by the Army to investigate the issue. Their findings: segregation and racist attitudes of the 1940s and '50s had indeed denied heroic men their Medals of Honor.
"The fact that no black soldier received a Medal," said Army spokeswoman Martha Rudd, "did reflect the national climate at the time."
Honored At Last
More than 50 years late, seven men were recognized last week for their amazing acts: Baker, Rivers, Edward Carter Jr., John Fox, Willy James Jr., Charles Thomas and George Watson.
Some of the soldiers died in combat. Some died in later years. Their relatives joined Baker at the White House to accept the awards from the President as he filled a gap in history.
Were they angry that they had waited so long? "It's a long time coming," admitted Fox's widow Arlene. "But I don't dwell in negativism. It's a very proud day."
"We're just happy the country we believe in has done this," said Thomas' niece Sandra Thomas. "My uncle believed in this country, and he fought for it. Young people need to take a lesson from this."
Vernon Baker accepted his Medal of Honor with quiet dignity. "I'm not angry anymore," he said. He noted that the Army has been a better place since it ended segregation in 1954.
As President Clinton spoke, Baker remembered that heroic moment in the hills of northern Italy. He shed tears of sadness and pride.
After the ceremony, Baker's voice lifted in praise of the lost heroes. "Those that are not here with me, thank you, fellas. Well done," he said. "I'll always remember you."
A Salute: Two Centuries Of Service
"The nation shall applaud your valor," General Andrew Jackson told Louisiana's black soldiers after the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. In every war the U.S. has counted on the courage of African Americans. Here are some examples:
The American Revolution (1775-83) More than 5,000 blacks helped the colonies overthrow British rule. Runaway slave Crispus Attucks, who was shot by British soldiers in Boston, is said to have been the first American to die for independence.
The Civil War (1861-65) Blacks made up one-tenth of the Union Army. A force from Massachusetts--the 54th Volunteer Infantry--led a heroic attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. (Their tale was told in the 1989 film Glory.) Medals of Honor went to 24 black Civil War soldiers.
The Indian Campaigns (1866-91) On the Western frontier, soldiers on horseback protected settlers from outlaws and hostile Native Americans. Black regiments were called the "buffalo soldiers" for their courage by Cheyenne and Comanche tribes. The nickname, accepted as a term of respect, was given to black units in later wars.
World War I (1914-18) Only one-tenth of the 400,000 African Americans who enlisted in the military actually saw combat. But 171 black soldiers earned a French award for bravery. Freddie Stowers, who died leading an all-black regiment in France, was finally awarded a Medal of Honor in 1991.
Persian Gulf (1990-91) More than one-quarter of fighting forces in the Persian Gulf War were black. So was the top officer in the U.S. military: General Colin Powell, a key figure in the swift defeat of Iraq.