Exclusion and segregation.

Everyday life for an African American soldier before 1948 included harsh discrimination--and most of it was legal. Until President Harry S. Truman called for an end to discrimination and segregation that year in the U.S. armed forces, African American soldiers who fought for their country did so under particularly difficult circumstances. Often trained apart from whites and assigned to all-black units, they frequently served under white, not black, commanders. In addition, black soldiers were, on many occasions, assigned difficult and unpleasant jobs, barred from certain better and higher-ranking positions, and treated more harshly than whites. Yet, despite these hardships, many African Americans served their country by joining the armed forces, hoping to win respect, dignity, and their rights through patriotic military service.

Such was the case during the years of American participation in World War I (1917-1918). That war, according to the U.S. government, aimed …