Blood for Dignity: The Story of the First Integrated Combat Unit in the U.S. Army

From Strand Bookstore

A history of the March 1945 integration of the 5th Platoon, K Company, 394th Regiment, 99th Division, the first black unit integrated with a white infantry company since the Revolutionary War.

From the Publisher

A profile of K Company, 394th Regiment, follows the first integration of black soldiers into the U.S. army, tracing their experiences of training and combat in World War II, during which they significantly contributed at Remagen Bridgehead.

Review

Ann Banks - New York Times Book Review
"It would be satisfying to report that BLOOD FOR DIGNITY does for the Fifth of K what Stephen Ambrose's BAND OF BROTHERS did for Easy Company, also a volunteer outfit. Colley's book is well researched and clearly written, but storytelling is not his strength. The reader is moved to admire the book's pioneering characters but not to tremble for them....If Colley is a lesser storyteller, he has not chosen a lesser story. In the crucial endgame of World War II, thousands of young black men volunteered for frontline combat. They made history fighting ably alongside white troops. Yet they are scarcely mentioned in the popular chronicles we take as true. David P. Colley deserves all credit for writing the first book to tell the story of these neglected trailblazers."

More about the book

In this World War II history, a journalist recalls the time when the U.S Army was still a segregated force. Due to manpower demands, platoons of black soldiers fought side-by-side with white troops in the 394th Regiment, with both groups acquitting themselves with honor. Much of the book is based on interviews with soldiers who had served in the 394th.