Forgotten Black Heroes Get Medal of Vindication

WASHINGTON — Almost 52 years ago on a field in Germany, eight enemy riflemen closed in on Edward Allen Carter Jr., a U.S. soldier from Los Angeles.

Carter, who had been wounded five times already that day, killed six of them, capturing two and gaining what the Pentagon now describes as “valuable information” about the location of the enemy.

On Monday, President Clinton awarded Carter, who died in 1963, and six other African American heroes of World War II belated Medals of Honor, the first such awards bestowed on blacks who were in the armed forces during that conflict.

The awards ceremony culminated years of controversy and charges of racism about the conspicuous lack of recognition of African American heroes in the war, a “gap” that Clinton and the military sought to repair on Monday.

“Today we fill the gap in that picture and give a group of heroes who also loved peace--but adapted themselves to war--the tribute that has always been their due,” Clinton declared in the White House ceremony.

Carter, a staff sergeant, worked in a Los Angeles tire facility after the war. Only one of the seven honorees is still alive. Four never survived their acts of courage on the battlefield.

Vernon Baker, 77, the surviving Medal of Honor winner, spoke of vindication on the White House driveway on a cold, blustery day: “We’ve all been vindicated. And the only thing I can say to those that are not here with me: ‘Thank you, fellows. Well done. And I’ll always remember you.’ ”

Baker, who lives in St. Maries, Idaho, was credited with destroying four machine gun posts, drawing enemy fire and killing nine Germans in Viareggio, Italy, on April 5, 1945. The following night he led a battalion through enemy minefields and heavy fire.

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Speaking softly, he said Monday: “I was a soldier and I had a job to do.”

In a ceremony that was attended by retired Army Gen. Colin L. Powell and Defense Secretary William J. Perry, Clinton expressed gratitude for the service of the Medal of Honor winners.

“Today we recognize seven men as being among the bravest of the brave,” he said. “Today America is profoundly thankful for the patriotism and the nobility of these men and for the example they set, which helped us to find a way to become a more just, more free nation.”

Before World War II, the Army had awarded Medals of Honor to black solders in every major conflict back to the Civil War, albeit just one in World War I. The lack of awards in World War II--a time when the services still were segregated--has particularly troubled advocates of the black veterans and prompted ongoing charges of racial bias.

Relatives of the deceased heroes expressed a sense of belated justice in the long-awaited official recognition, although their complex mixture of emotions was not completely joyful.

“Bittersweet” was the word used by Allene Carter, daughter-in-law of Edward Carter, the late Los Angeles veteran. For many years, she said, his wife and sons “waited for him to get the recognition and when they forgot about it they finally got this phone call.”

Also traveling from Southern California for the ceremony was Carter’s widow, Mildred, 81, and his two sons, Edward A. Carter III, who accepted the award, and William S. Carter.

The family is moving the veteran’s remains to Arlington National Cemetery from the Veterans Administration’s cemetery in Los Angeles.

“We honor the veterans that served with him,” Allene Carter said of other African American soldiers. “We accept the medal on their behalf as well.”

The Pentagon asked Shaw University in North Carolina to investigate black military heroes of World War II a few years ago. A 1993 report by the university cited the military’s “racial climate” as the key reason why African American soldiers had been denied top honors in World War II, a finding that led officials to attempt to make amends in Monday’s ceremony.

“While there is no official documentation for racial prejudice in the awards process for the Medal of Honor . . . this study concludes that the failure of an African American soldier to win a Medal of Honor most definitely lay in the racial climate and practice of the Army in World War II,” the study reported.

Official summaries released Monday describe the battlefield exploits of the other honorees.

John Robert Fox, a first lieutenant from Cincinnati, directed U.S. artillery fire toward himself in a bid to defeat attacking Germans in Sommocolonia, Italy. “Fire it! There are more of them than there are of us. Give them hell!” was his final communication before gunfire cut him down. The Americans then repelled the German advance.

Willy F. James Jr. of Kansas City, Mo., lost his life to machine gun fire near Lippoldsberg, Germany, where U.S. troops sought to secure a key bridgehead. First, he scouted enemy positions, and returned through 300 yards of fire to brief his comrades. He was killed in the assault soon after but the information he had brought back led to victory.

With his leg slashed to the bone, Ruben Rivers, a staff sergeant from Oklahoma City, insisted on directing his tank’s fire in a battle in France. He did not survive.

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Also in France, Charles L. Thomas, a major from Birmingham, Ala., and later Detroit, exposed himself to enemy fire and was wounded severely as he supervised setting up of two antitank guns. He waited until another officer took control before he allowing himself to be evacuated.

George Watson, a private also from Birmingham, was traveling aboard a U.S. troop ship when it was bombed and sunk by enemy aircraft off New Guinea. He helped others to safely evacuate but was dragged below the surface to his death by the sinking vessel.

“This heroic action, which subsequently cost him his life, resulted in saving the lives of several of his comrades,” according to the Army description.