The National WWII Museum is the proud sponsor of Profiles with Wendell Pierce on WBOK 1230 AM. Each month, New Orleans native and renowned actor Wendell Pierce invites his contemporaries to share their insights on culture, current events, entertainment and more. Recent guests include musician PJ Morton, actor Anthony Mackie, musician Wynton Marsalis, actress Vanessa L Williams, and attorney Cheryl Ifill. Conversations with Wendell Pierce airs the last Friday of every month at noon and is rebroadcast on weekends.
Vernon Baker
Vernon Baker was one of seven African Americans to receive the Medal of Honor for service in World War II, an award delayed decades by bias and discrimination. In both war and peace, Baker served as an inspirational leader for the soldiers that served under his command and for generations to come.
Roscoe Brown
Dr. Roscoe Brown served in the USAAF as a fighter pilot in the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force. Brown recounts some of his exploits in the skies over Europe, including a duel with a German ME-262 jet fighter.
Edgar Cole
It was only in the wake of Executive Order 8802, and a presidential directive issued directly to the Corps, that the Marines began setting up a new segregated training facility for African American recruits at Montford Point, North Carolina. One of the first recruits was Edgar Cole.
William Holloman III
Pursuing his passion for flight, William Holloman II enlisted in the only unit that would let him fly—the Tuskegee Airmen. He joined as a fighter pilot with the famous “Red Tails” of the 332nd Fighter Group.
Joseph LaNier II
From rural Mississippi to Iwo Jima, Joseph LaNier confronted racism in society and service.
Charles McGee
Charles McGee was an African American pilot in the 332nd Fighter Group. Deployed to Italy in 1944, McGee saw action both escorting heavy bombers on missions to Europe, and engaging enemy fighter aircraft.
Rothacker Smith
Dr. Rothacker Smith looked death in the eye several times during World War II. In these moments during his wartime service, during captivity as a German POW and beyond, his faith carried him through and indeed directed much of his life, as did the proud tradition of the Buffalo Soldier which he upheld.
Betty Reid Soskin
Meet America's oldest National Park Ranger—a wartime Home Front worker profiled in the Museum's 2018 Electronic Field Trip about African American Experiences in World War II.
Harold Ward
Eleven months after witnessing the attack on Pearl Harbor, Harold Ward stood watch aboard the USS San Francisco as the heavy cruiser "steamed right into a mess."
Inside The Collection
The National WWII Museum is home to thousands of oral histories and hundreds of thousands of photographs. Our Digital Collection offers the visitor a way to browse a sample of these collections and purchase images if interested.
Featured Profiles
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Article TypeSailor Charles Walter David Jr. Gave His Life to Save Fellow Americans
Coast Guardsman Charles Walter David Jr. volunteered to rescue sailors from the doomed USAT Dorchester and also saved the lives of two of his own shipmates.
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John Coltrane: From World War II to Jazz Genius
Before John Coltrane became recognized as an influential jazz musician, he served with the US Navy band the Melody Masters.
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Louisiana Spotlight: Corporal Albert Porche, 99th Fighter Squadron
More than 14,000 African American men served in the US Army Air Forces in segregated units during World War II. Only about 1,000 of them were pilots. Many others, like Louisiana native Albert Porche, filled vital support roles which kept the famed Red Tails flying in Italy.
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Lieutenant John Fox's Medal of Honor
John Fox was one of seven African Americans who had their earlier awards upgraded to the Medal of Honor on January 13, 1997. Like all but one of the veterans, he did not live to see this honor.
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Lieutenant Willa Brown – Aviatrix, Maker of Pilots
Willa Brown may not be a household name, but her accomplishments and legacy are nothing short of astounding. The first African American woman to hold a commercial pilot’s license in the United States and teacher of hundreds of future Tuskegee Airmen has a fascinating and inspiring life story.
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Siren of the Resistance: The Artistry and Espionage of Josephine Baker
Iconic entertainer of the Jazz Age, famous for her risqué performances, Josephine Baker responded to the start of World War II by becoming a spy for the French Resistance. Known as the “Creole Goddess” of France, Baker used her celebrity to gain access to high-ranking Axis officials.
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The Extraordinary Life of Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune was a passionate educator and presidential advisor. In her long career of public service, she became one of the earliest black female activists that helped lay the foundation to the modern civil rights movement.
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Vernon Baker, 92nd Infantry Division
Medal of Honor recipient 1st Lt. Vernon Baker discusses the details of the valorous action that earned him this recognition.
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William Holloman, III, 332nd Fighter Group
William Holloman, III, discusses fighting for a country that viewed him as a second class citizen.
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Edgar Cole, 52nd Defense Battalion
Edgar Cole describes being drafted into the Marine Corps and the racism he experienced during his initial days in the service.
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Charles McGee, 332nd Fighter Group
Charles McGee discusses flying bomber escort for 15th Air Force heavy bombardment groups and downing a German Focke Wulf Fw 190 during one of those missions.
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Joseph LaNier, 23rd Special Naval Construction Battalion
Joseph LaNier describes two encounters he had with racism in the military, one of which surprised him.
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John Leahr, 332nd Fighter Group
John Leahr discusses overcoming hurdles and becoming a fighter pilot in the 332nd Fighter Group, now known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Featured Articles
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African Americans Fought for Freedom at Home and Abroad during World War II
In the face of racism and segregation, Black men and women served in every branch of the armed services during World War II.
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The Black Panthers Enter Combat: The 761st Tank Battalion
The men of the African American 761st Tank Battalion entered combat at Morville-les-Vic on November 7, 1944. In an "inferno" of battle, they proved their worth in the first of a series of hard fought battles.
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Museum Acquires Item Related to the First African American Unit in Normandy
Museum adds rare barrage balloon equipment to Collection.
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Murdered Warriors: The Chasselay Massacre, June 1940
German troops invading France in the spring of 1940 committed widespread atrocities, especially against Black African colonial troops. One of the worst massacres took place at the town of Chasselay on June 20.
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Dunbar High School: Class of '43
Principal Frederic MacFarlane speaks about the importance of an education for his students and also of the many challenges for African Americans that lay ahead.
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The Port Chicago 50 at 76: Time for Exoneration by Thurgood Marshall, Jr. and John A. Lawrence
July 17 marks the 76th anniversary of the Port Chicago Disaster. The Port Chicago 50 have yet to be exonerated.
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The Tuskegee Airmen: An Interview with the Leading Authority
Daniel Haulman, PhD, one of the world's leading authorities on the all African American Tuskegee Airmen, joins us for an interview on their service, challenges, and legacy.
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Platoon Sergeant Ruben Rivers and the 761st Tank Battalion
On November 16, 1944, the men of the African American 761st Tank Battalion assaulted the German-held town of Guebling. Platoon Sergeant Ruben Rivers displayed uncommon heroism in leading the assault, and in doing so made the ultimate sacrifice for his comrades.
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The Black Panthers Drive into Germany: The 761st Tank Battalion, 1945
The African American Black Panthers of the 761st Tank Battalion completed their distinguished combat record by breaching Germany's Siegfried Line and crossing the Rhine in 1945.
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Major Charles L. Thomas and the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion
The African American 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion earned a Presidential Unit Citation for its heroic stand in France in December 1944, and a Medal of Honor in 1980 posthumously awarded to Major Charles Thomas.
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Unstoppable: The African American 784th Tank Battalion
The 784th Tank Battalion's motto was "It Will Be Done." This African American unit imposed its will on the enemy in combat in 1945.
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Sacrifice: The 333rd Field Artillery at the Battle of the Bulge
Manning 155mm howitzers, African American gunners sacrificed themselves to defend fleeing infantry. Eleven of them were murdered by the Waffen SS, and then forgotten by the US Army.
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The Extraordinary Life of Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune was a passionate educator and presidential advisor. In her long career of public service, she became one of the earliest black female activists that helped lay the foundation to the modern civil rights movement.
