Where have all the black soldiers gone? African-Americans not in Eastwood's new WWII film

The Guardian (UK) ^ | October 21, 2006 | Dan Glaister

[EveningStar]

On February 19 1945 Thomas McPhatter found himself on a landing craft heading toward the beach on Iwo Jima...

Sadly, Sgt McPhatter's experience is not mirrored in Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood's big-budget, Oscar-tipped film of the battle for the Japanese island that opened on Friday in the US. While the film's battle scenes show scores of young soldiers in combat, none of them are African-American. Yet almost 900 African-American troops took part in the battle of Iwo Jima, including Sgt McPhatter...

[US Navy guy]

FDR(a LIBERAL DEM) did not let "Black" Americans serve in the frontline is WW II.

[gaijin]

Being a natural socialist, FDR also ordered that Japanese-Americans be sent to a rural network of American gulags.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[AnAmericanMother]

Conan Doyle wrote a couple of really good historical novels set in 14th c. England.

A black African sailor created quite a sensation in Sussex, believe me. Most people in England at that time had never seen a black man.

[AnAmericanMother]

My dad says the same thing too. He was in Africa, Sicily, and Italy.

He also said that some of the truck drivers refused to do their work at Anzio under fire, the CO had to threaten to shoot them on the spot.

[Victoria Delsoul]

The failure to transfer the active role played by African-Americans at Iwo Jima to the big screen does not surprise him. "One of the marines I interviewed said that the people who were filming newsreel footage on Iwo Jima deliberately turned their cameras away when black folks came by. Blacks are not surprised at all when they see movies set where black troops were engaged and never show on the screen. I would like to say that it was from ignorance but anybody can do research and come up with books about African-Americans in world war two. I think it has to do with box office and what producers of movies think Americans really want to see."

Were the black guys actors? I tend to think that only actors would be permitted on the set, as well as various crew. Whether the director decided to eliminate that portion of the film in the editing room, or whether he changed his mind at the last moment before filming I can't say. But if black actors were on the set to be filmed, we can't say that Eastwood didn't have the intention of including them in the film.

[Lancey Howard]

My son saw 'Departed' last night and said it was "good".
Believe me, when my son says a movie is "good", it must be a potential Oscar winner for best picture.

[patton]

LOL. Sort of.

[KoRn]

"So you're going to INSIST"

I neither said or implied such a thing. Take your passion elsewhere.

[31M20RedDevil]

In VN I saw the same sort of stuff.

It was like a mini-war at times at base.

We actually had 3 murders in our compound in Quang Tri
the culprits wern`t Amish

I`m gonna see the movie,had an uncle died at Iwo.

[fish hawk]

I've seen the picture of the flag raising many times and can't remember any black soldiers involved with the raising of that flag. So what's the big deal.

[Skywalk]

My great-uncle was on Okinawa with the Marines. He certainly was not doing 'mess' duty then.

[AnAmericanMother]

My F-I-L was on Iwo, his jeep was blown up, he escaped without a scratch. Signal Corps.

[RaceBannon]

26,000 causulties, with 6700 dead, not 8600

round numbers... :)

[RaceBannon]

I would like to hear this moron explain the Black BRITISH history of soldiers fighting for Britain in WWII

[Victoria Delsoul]

Good point.

[PJ-Comix]

The more I hear about this movie, the less I am inclined to go see it.

The movie is good. I saw it Friday. You should see it too. Special Effects were incredible and did not seem like CGI effects even though they had to be there.

[PJ-Comix]

His last boxing movie was horrible.

DEPRESSING is the word.

[RaceBannon]

Okinawa was a much deeper batle than Iwo Jima, ANYONE there would be in combat soon enough!

Iwo Jima was smaller than Manhattan

[31M20RedDevil]

Glad he made it.
Hey,I was in a jeep going out to Khe Sahn,my
Sgt driving,me taking pics and he ran off the
road down a hill into a rice paddy,my M-16 flying
into the water.

Amazing how little the difference between living
and dieing can be in war or anywhere