320th Barrage Balloon Battalion and other D-Day Heroes
By
John C Abercrombie
On the recognition of D-Day, we seldom if ever see any Black soldiers and as a result believe that there were none that landed on Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944. It is estimated that there were 2,000 Black soldiers who participated on that fateful day. In this post, we will speak to the 320 Barrage Balloon Battalion, an all-Black Army unit that indeed saw combat and a look at Waverly B Woodson, Jr. who should have been a Medal of Honor winner.
The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion deployed VLA (Very Low Altitude) devices on Utah and Omaha beaches on the first day of the invasion, June 6, 1944.
The mission of the 320th was to raise hydrogen-filled barrage balloons to protect the infantry and armored troops from being strafed (to rake ground troops, an airfield, etc.) with gun fire at close range and especially with machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft).
These devices flew at an altitude of about 200 feet and protected soldiers landing on the nearby beaches from attacks of low flying German planes.
A commendation was given them by the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight David Eisenhower who later became the 34th president of the United States of America, serving from 1953 to 1961, He cited the unit for conducting “Its mission with Courage and determination, and providing an important element of the air defense team”.
The 320th served 140 days in France.
The 320th was the only American barrage balloon unit in France and the first Black unit in the segregated American Army to come ashore on June 6, 1944, D Day.
A medic with the 320th Waverly B Woodson, Jr. was nominated for the Medal of Honor, however, he has yet to be confirmed for it. Now let us take a look at what this brave soldier did.
Waverly B “Woody” Woodson, Jr. born August 3, 1922 was a 21-year-old soldier from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when he landed on Omaha Beach in rough seas about 9:00 am on June 6, 1944. Wounded by shrapnel that ripped open his buttocks and thigh, killing the soldier next to him, Woodson and 3 other medics crept up the beach crouched behind a tank.
Despite searing pain from his own wounds, Woodson worked for the next 30 hours setting up a medical aid station, removing bullets, dispensing blood plasma, cleaning wounds, resetting broken bones and at one point amputating a foot.
Note: Many soldiers lives were saved by blood banks and blood plasma. A development of Dr. Charles Drew, a Black doctor. Drew is listed as a founder of the Blood Bank, however he left the organization because they insisted that he set up 2 blood banks, one for Black and one for White. Dr Charles Drew will be featured in a future post.
Woodson also saved 4 men from drowning by pulling them from the waves and administering CPR. They became endangered after their guide rope broke on the way to shore. After having treated at least 200 men, Woodson collapsed from his injuries and was transferred to a hospital ship. As soon as he was able, he returned to duty on Omaha Beach.
Black newspapers hailed Woodson as the “No. 1 invasion hero”
The United States Military newspaper “Star and Stripes” wrote that he and his fellow medics “Covered themselves with glory on D-Day.”
The United States Army issued a news release in August 1944 that called him a “modest Negro American soldier” who “was cited by his commanding officer for extraordinary bravery.”
A journalist, Linda Hervieux, Author of “Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, At Home and At War” uncovered a document showing that Woodson’s commanding officer had recommended him for the Distinguished Service Cross – the second-highest military award, however the office of General John C H Lee believed that Woodson had earned an even more distinguished award: The Medal of Honor
Following this revelation, Woodson’s family has been working for the Army to award the Medal of honor posthumously. Woodson died August 12, 2005.
The family started an online petition to win Woodson the honors that he so rightly deserves. An Army news release from August 1944 lauded Woodson for treating more than 200 men. It is very rare indeed for any recognition of a Black soldier.
A hand-written note was discovered at the Truman Presidential library in Independence, Missouri showing that an American general in Britain believed Woodson deserved better than the Distinguished Service Cross for which he had been recommended.
The note says “Here is a Negro from Philadelphia who has been recommended for a suitable award. This is big enough award that the President can give it personally, as he has in the case of some White boys.” Although the note is unsigned, it is believed to have been written by Philleo Nash, an official in the Office of War Information. That note is addressed to “Jonathan,” believed to be Jonathan Daniels, a frequent correspondent of Nash and an aide to President Franklin D Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945.
Despite the current documentation the Army denied Woodson the Medal of Honor in 1997. Among the reasons is the small number of records, because of a fire in 1973 that destroyed the majority of World War II documents in St. Louis, Missouri, and the fact that there are no first-hand witnesses.
On the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994, the French government invited Woodson on an all-expense paid trip to Normandy, and presenting Woodson with a palm-sized medal commemorating his service.
Corporal William G. Dabney was one of the last surviving members of this 320th and received the French Legion of Honor in 2009 for his participation in the Invasion of Normandy. He died in December 2018.
President Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 awarded Medals of Honor to 7 Black soldiers who served in World War II, only one of them still alive to receive the award. Woodson was not in that number.
Around the same time, a study commissioned by the U.S. Army concluded that racism was to blame for the military’s failure to honor soldiers of color during World War II. In response, President Bill Clinton awarded Medals of Honor to seven black soldiers who had served in the conflict, only one of whom was still alive to receive it. Woodson was not among them.
Joann Woodson the widow of Waverly Woodson’s widow is working to correct the oversight and currently has a petition to correct the oversight.
Those interested in signing the petition can do so here. Metal of Honor for Waverly Woodson.
The above post covers soldiers and activities of June 6, 1944, however the soldiers who have been awarded the Medal of Honor are listed below.
Black soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor WWII
• Baker, Vernon J – First Lieutenant
• Carter, Edward A, Jr. – Staff Sargent
• Fox, John R – First Lieutenant
• James, Willy F, Jr. – Private First Class
• Rivers, Ruben – Staff Sargent
• Thomas, Charles L – Captain
• Watson, George – Private
The above represent those who have been awarded the medal. Judging from the report referred to in the article, these brave men while deserving of the award may not be the only ones so deserving.
Europeans recognized them and respected Black soldiers as Americans, yet they are not respected in their own country. How ironic is that?
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FORGOTTEN the book trailer:
320th Barrage Balloon Battalion in WWII
The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion was the only unit of African-American combat soldiers in the segregated U.S. Army to land on D-Day. They stormed Omaha and Utah Beaches early on June 6, 1944. They’ve been written out of history. Movies don’t show them. Most books don’t mention them. But they were there. A new book tells their story: Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, At Home and At War by Linda Hervieux (HarperCollins, October 2015).. See www.lindahervieux.com for more on the men and their stories.
Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, at Home and at War
Book Review of this amazing book
The injustices of 1940s Jim Crow America are brought to life in this extraordinary blend of military and social history—a story that pays tribute to the valor of an all-black battalion whose crucial contributions at D-Day have gone unrecognized to this day.
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit of African-American soldiers, landed on the beaches of France. Their orders were to man a curtain of armed balloons meant to deter enemy aircraft. One member of the 320th would be nominated for the Medal of Honor, an award he would never receive. The nation’s highest decoration was not given to black soldiers in World War II.
Drawing on newly uncovered military records and dozens of original interviews with surviving members of the 320th and their families, Linda Hervieux tells the story of these heroic men charged with an extraordinary mission, whose contributions to one of the most celebrated events in modern history have been overlooked. Members of the 320th—Wilson Monk, a jack-of-all-trades from Atlantic City; Henry Parham, the son of sharecroppers from rural Virginia; William Dabney, an eager 17-year-old from Roanoke, Virginia; Samuel Mattison, a charming romantic from Columbus, Ohio—and thousands of other African Americans were sent abroad to fight for liberties denied them at home. In England and Europe, these soldiers discovered freedom they had not known in a homeland that treated them as second-class citizens—experiences they carried back to America, fueling the budding civil rights movement.
In telling the story of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, Hervieux offers a vivid account of the tension between racial politics and national service in wartime America, and a moving narrative of human bravery and perseverance in the face of injustice.
This Book is available in Audible form – listen anywhere you go. I have a library with me everywhere I go. I often listen on my cell phone with earbuds when I can’t read. Amazing offer!
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World War II- Integrated Funeral Service at Normandy
America lost some 6,600 men during the Normandy invasion, including members of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion who died in the initial assault.
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Air Fryers
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Fighting for America: Black Soldiers-the Unsung Heroes of World War II
The African-American contribution to winning World War II has never been celebrated as profoundly as in Fighting for America. In this inspirational and uniquely personal tribute, the essential part played by black servicemen and -women in that cataclysmic conflict is brought home.
Here are letters, photographs, oral histories, and rare documents, collected by historian Christopher Moore, the son of two black WWII veterans. Weaving his family history with that of his people and nation, Moore has created an unforgettable tapestry of sacrifice, fortitude, and courage. From the 1,800 black soldiers who landed at Normandy Beach on D-Day, and the legendary Tuskegee Airmen who won ninety-five Distinguished Flying Crosses, to the 761st Tank Battalion who, under General Patton, helped liberate Nazi death camps, the invaluable effort of black Americans to defend democracy is captured in word and image.
Readers will be introduced to many unheralded heroes who helped America win the war, including Dorie Miller, the messman who manned a machine gun and downed four Japanese planes; Robert Brooks, the first American to die in armored battle; Lt. Jackie Robinson, the future baseball legend who faced court-martial for refusing to sit in the back of a military bus; an until now forgotten African-American philosopher who helped save many lives at a Japanese POW camp; even the author’s own parents: his mother, Kay, a WAC when she met his father, Bill, who was part of the celebrated Red Ball Express.
Yet Fighting for America is more than a testimonial; it is also a troubling story of profound contradictions, of a country still in the throes of segregation, of a domestic battleground where arrests and riots occurred simultaneously with foreign service–and of how the war helped spotlight this disparity and galvanize the need for civil rights. Featuring a unique perspective on black soldiers, Fighting for America will move any reader: all who, like the author, owe their lives to those who served.
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World War II- The Beaches at Normandy
The men of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion landed on Omaha and Utah Beaches, in Normandy on D-Day and became the first black Soldiers to see combat in the European theatre. Their mission was to prevent the Luftwaffe from strafing the invasion force by launching huge dirigibles.
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Black Warriors:
the Buffalo Soldiers of World War Ii: Memories of the Only Negro Infantry Division to Fight in Europe During World War II
Numbering 4,000 select officers and men, Combat Team 370 was part of n Europe during World War II the 92nd Infantry Division, the only all-Negro division to fight in Europe during World War II. In Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II, author Ivan J. Houston recounts his experiences, when, as a nineteen-year-old California college student, he entered the US Army and served with the 3rd Battalion, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division of the US Fifth Army from 1943 to 1945.
Drawn from minute-by-minute records of the unit’s activities compiled by Houston during his deployment in Italy, this account describes both the historic encounters and the achievements of his fellow black soldiers during this breakthrough period in American military history. It tells of how the Buffalo Soldiers fought alongside other American troops, including Japanese Americans and soldiers from Great Britain, Brazil, South Africa, and India.
With photos and maps included, Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II provides a compelling, firsthand account of the segregated Buffalo Soldiers’ experiences while they fought not only the power of the Nazi war machine but also racism and the widely held belief they were not up to the task. Their achievements prove otherwise.
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320th Barrage Balloon Battalion Top # 10 Facts
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The Invisible Soldier: The Experience of the Black Soldier, World War II
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Sports Equipment
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Animation shows the links of the cables of barrage balloons to detect and destroy…HD Stock Footage
Historic Stock Footage Archival and Vintage Video Clips in HD.
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Buffalo Soldiers in Italy: Black Americans in World War II
The 92nd Infantry (“Buffalo”) Division was the last segregated (all-black) U.S. Army division and the only black division to fight in World War II in Europe. The few media references to the division have reflected generally unfavorable contemporary evaluations by white commanders. The present work reflects an analysis of numerous records and interviews that refute the negative impressions and demonstrate that these 13,500 soldiers gained their share of victories under hardships no others were expected to meet.
ABH – Buffalo Soldiers in Italy
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