This country is at war with Germany, we shall go on to the end. I remember the sheets of

plane which came up and almost blinded us for my guns.

Hello and welcome to another episode of the World War Two podcast I'm Angus Wallace.

At the end of World War Two, 473 men had been honored by the United States for their

bravery and sacrifice by receiving the Medal of Honor. The medal was awarded among all ranks

from Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright at the top all the way down to 18-year-old private

Joseph Merrill. But though one million African Americans served in the military,

not one was awarded the Medal of Honor, this being despite some extraordinary acts of valor.

In 1993, US Army Commission reviewed cases often from recipients of America's second highest

medal, the Distinguished Service Cross, and determined that a number of these men had been

denied the Army's highest award simply due to racial discrimination. In this episode,

I'm joined by Robert Child, author of Immortal Valor, the Black Medal of Honor winners of World

War Two. Before we get started, it's a big thank you to all those who support the podcast by

becoming patrons. So from people like you, listener, help me find the time to put the show together.

You can find out more at patreon.com slash ww2podcast. So onto the main feature, Robert.

Thanks for joining me. Shall we start by looking at the Medal of Honor? What's its history?

When was it first awarded? How did it come about? It said something I don't know much about.

The Medal of Honor was created by, first for the Navy, the US Navy in 1861,

and it was put forth by a congressman and Abraham Lincoln signed that bill and then it became

the Medal of Honor for the Army. So it started with the Navy first and then moved into the Army.

It was intended for to recognize the highest levels of bravery in combat and it was replacing

the badge of military merit which came out at the end of the revolution that was created by George

...