During World War II, between the years 1940 and 1945 there were approximately 909,000 African Americans who enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. Shortly after their enlistment, these members of our military were placed in separate squadrons segregated between blacks and whites, so as not to compromise the squadrons' willingness to work together. Despite the willingness of these brave people to serve and die for their country, these people were told that they would not have the same opportunities as their white counterparts. They were told they would not be afforded the opportunity for a promotion during their time in service or the same luxuries such as extra vacation time and extra downtime resources. In rare exceptions, an African American soldier was promoted during the service, one such person was Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr., who was the first African American to reach that rank. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay On September 11, 1941 there was a new squadron being prepared and created in the United States Military Air Division, and this squadron was to be made up of only African American soldiers. This squadron consisted of 13 original members of the First Class Aviation Cadets, one of whom was Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr., son of Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. Once the squadron was formed, it was given the title of 99th Pursuit Squadron, later known as the "Tuskegee Airmen" for having trained on Tuskegee Airfield. These cadets trained very hard, as they had to demonstrate that they had the same degree of flying professionalism as their white counterparts and could perform the same missions with the same precision or better. During training the cadets made great strides to demonstrate that they were ready to deploy and fight in the war on the seas and in April 1942 these good little pegs were finally ready and deployed. First these brave pilots were stationed in North Africa where they were ordered to fly missions using a P-40 Warhawk which was much slower and had worse handling than the planes the Germans flew. This act of giving play to an older model while still waiting for them to do as much good as their white counterparts is just one of the ways these African Americans were discriminated against during the war. After completing their missions to fly to North Africa, the Tuskegee Airmen were moved and stationed in Sicily, Italy to rendezvous with the 79th Fighter Group and in 1944 they successfully managed, after a couple of dog fights, to shoot down a dozen German fighters in space. of just two days, which was a major achievement. Then, in February 1944, fighter groups from the 100th, 301st, and 302nd joined the 99th Pursuit Squadron and combined to create the 332nd Fighter Group. After the combination of these squadrons, the pilots of the 332nd now received the upgraded P-51 Mustangs and were tasked with flying escorts for the 15th Air Force's heavy bombers when they flew raids deep into enemy territory. Finally, on April 26, 1945, the 332nd had flown its last mission, and during just two years of combat the Tuskegee Airmen had flown more than 15,000 individual sorties and had one of the best records of all the different fighter groups. the Tuskegee Airmen, once honorably discharged, these brave people had to return to a country where persecution of a person based solely on skin color and appearance wasthe same as those who had just fought to get rid of in Europe and Nazi Germany. The feeling that nothing had changed was and would be devastating for anyone who risked their lives to get rid of it elsewhere. Thus, during the time, the Tuskegee Airmen had just left for their deployment, and exactly one month after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the most read black newspaper in America, the “Pittsburgh Courier,” had published a very extensive article on February 7 1942. In this newspaper the Pittsburgh Courier urged all blacks to give their all to the war effort. At the same time, they called on the government to do everything possible to make the rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence, and all amendments to the Constitution, about equal rights, real and fair to every citizen, regardless of his or her race. Having a double front fighting an enemy both inside and outside the country, the Pittsburgh Courier decided to call it "the Double V campaign." In this regard Newby II, (2004) states that “The injustice of calling men to fight for freedom by subjecting them to humiliating discrimination within the fighting forces…”. One such story of discrimination and prejudice is that of the story of Isaac Woodard Jr. The story begins with Mr. Woodard's honorable discharge as a Sergeant in the United States Army on February 12, 1946. Just a couple of hours later Having been discharged from active duty at Fort Gordon in Georgia, Mr. Woodard was riding a Gray Hound Bus home still wearing his military uniform. Stopping in Aiken, South Carolina, the bus driver contacted the local police department accusing Mr. Woodard of causing a disturbance over a seat dispute on the bus. Mr Woodard was then forcibly removed from the bus by these two police officers and taken to a street near the station, where these police officers proceeded to beat Mr Woodard with their batons. During this altercation, Mr Woodard had grabbed one of the truncheons to protect himself and the police officer then pointed the firearm at him and said he would kill him if he did anything like that again. While being transported to the local prison, one of the officers asked Mr. Woodard if he was a civilian, because he was still wearing his military uniform. Upon hearing the response that he was a civilian, the police officer proceeded to beat the man again. Mr. Woodard. . Once they reached the prison and were placed in a cell, the officers proceeded to beat Mr Woodard once again with their batons and say they had "gouged out" his eyes. After it was later confirmed that Mr Woodard had suffered significant damage to his eyes he could no longer see. Then, after spending a night in jail, he was forced to appear before a judge and was ordered to pay a $50 fine for disorderly conduct. There are many similar stories from all over, before and after the war, some even happened during, it seems like nothing could be done about it, people protested and begged to have their words heard. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay Many more stories like Mr. Woodard's would have happened in the military if it were not for the President issuing Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, banning the segregation of the Armed Forces. The Executive Order states that “It is hereby declared that it is the policy of the President that there be equal treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without distinction of race, color, religion and origin.