Rodney's Rambling's

  Strength through Diversity African Americans in World War II Fully qualified African American nurses often found that racial segregation and discrimination hampered their entry into military service during World War II. And even those who made it in found Jim Crow discrimination waiting for them at the door. In 1945, thanks to pressure applied by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, 60 Black women were sent to Lovell Hospital at Fort Devens (outside Boston) to be trained as medical technicians. The commanding officer objected to Black medical technicians placing thermometers in the mouths of White servicemen, and he ordered these women to be reclassified from medical technicians to orderlies. A group of African American servicewomen met with the commanding officer, only to be insulted and dismissed. They walked out of the meeting and refused to report to work the next morning. After being threatened with charges of mutiny, most returned to work. Six did not. When these six were threaten...

   4 Concealed Stories -The Medals of Honor 1.       Why were the Irish awarded so many Medals of Honor As noted above, Irish-Americans have disproportionately received the highest percentage of Medal of Honor awards.  The Irish have a long history of military service in the U.S.  As far back as the American Revolution, the Irish played a significant role in the war.  During this war, Ireland was part of the British Empire, and therefore, many Irishmen served in the British Army in North America and also volunteered to fight on the side of the Americans.  As the war expanded, and after our alliance with France, Irishmen formed the Irish Volunteers, a militia formed to fight for Ireland’s independence.  At the time of the American Revolution, the Irish comprised an estimated quarter of America’s 2 million population.  But our stock stories about the Founding Fathers of this country and the Patriots feature only Angl...