World War 1 - American Legacy DVD

I don't get to catch many documentaries but I thought this one was really well done. The overview of the war was informative, the various personal stories were enlightening and the narration was excellent. In my international business class, we discussed the parallels between the globalization around WWI vs. today. I just so happened to catch the documentary before the class and I was able to add insight to the discussion more from the DVD than from the class readings. Just a great overview of the war supplemented with amazing personal stories.

I was born into a de facto segregated city more than 73 years ago. When I was in grade school during World War II, our scholastic day began with a reading of the war news over the school public address system. Even as little kids, we were kept abreast of where our Armed Forces were fighting, towns or islands they had captured, or lost and casualty figures. The daily news update was closed with a gentle exhortation to buy war stampms in the principal's office. When my family went to a movie, we were shown military documentaries and sometimes combat footage between the two feature films. In all that time, I never knew that Negroes (which was the "polite" way to refer to people of color) fought in our wars.

I was taught that the Black man was not smart enough, skilled enough or brave enough to be trusted in battle. I was taught that while Black men served in both World Wars, they did not fight. Rather, they were cooks, construction workers, howpital orderlies, etc. It was not until I was nearly 40 years old that I even heard of Seaman DOrie Miller, a Black hero who fought against attacking Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941. (see http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq57-4.htm). It was then that I began to doubt all the stories I had been told about the ability and willingness of Black Americans to stand up and fight when our country is threatened. Then I saw the film "The Tuskegee Airmen." Another epiphany.

In the wonderful account of America's involvement in World War I, I was impressed with both the quality of the images and of the information made available on the DVD. When I watched the story of the 115th Infantry Regiment, an all-Black unit made up mostly of African-Americans from New York's Harlem, The men who made this unit the most highly decorated regiment of American infantry to fight in World War I, had been working in kitchens, construction projects, docks, etc. when they were provided opportunities to take up arms and fight against the Kaiser's army. And they were magnificent! Theiort story is but one part of this magnificent look at nearly-forgotten history and is well worth the small cost of buying this disk.

As an aside, everytime I tell someone about the African-American heroes of the 1st World War, they don't believe it and I am asked to loan him the DVD. It is THAT good!

This is a enjoyable film that covers everything you need to know about WW1. It like a story book of history where you find the true aspects of the great war including the heroic sacrifices from the US regiments not excluding war horses and other animals.

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