Lists of WWII African American support units?

Jim,

I think it would be worthwhile to read one of the U.S. Army in World War II volumes (the Green Book series).  Titled Employment of Negro Troops ( GPO, 1966), it is one of the Special Studies volumes.  A transcribed version can be found here:

https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/11-4/index.htm#contents

This book may be able to delineate the many types of units African-Americans were assigned to, which will provide a basis for further research.  Unfortunately, there are too few combat units and far too many service troops in which they were allowed to serve.  Combat units have reasonable historical coverage; that of the service troops are much less represented.

I hope you find this information helpful.

A. J.

Alex,

Thank you for suggesting Lee's book.  It is always within easy reach of my desk, and I consult it often.  Unfortunately, Lee did not have space or the mandate to discuss the majority of African American units that served in WWII leaving a great void in our knowledge.  Even Stanton's WWII Army Order of Battle omits virtually all of the Signal, Transportation, Ordnance and Quartermaster Corps units, and the relevant "Green Books" are only slightly helpful in identifying specific African American units. 

My hope is to locate official records like the one mentioned in my edit above, that contain comprehensive lists of units, white and African American.  Given the circumstances of segregation it seems highly these records were created and preserved.  In fact, I think it probable that Lee had copies of these records so he could identify African American units.  Sadly, my past efforts to locate his research papers and draft manuscripts at NARA, CMH and his alma mater were unsuccessful. 

Thank you again for your excellent suggestion.  Lee's book is the go-to source for anyone seriously interested in African American Army service during WWII.

Best Regards,

Jim

Dear Jim Lankford,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Background Files to the Volume "The Transportation Corps: Movements, Training, and Supply" in the Records of the Army Staff (Record Group 319) that relates to the Army publication The Transportation Corps: Movements, Training and Supply that you cited in your inquiry. There may be some relevant information about the sources used in the publication among these records. We also located the series Work Measurement Records, 1945 by the Director of Personnel in the Records of the Office of the Chief of Transportation (Record Group 336) that may include a copy of the report you are seeking. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to these records.

Next, we located the series Statistical Tabulations, 1942–1947 in the Records of Headquarters Army Ground Forces (Record Group 337) that includes information about African American units. The series Hastie-Gibson Subject Files, 1940–1948 in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of War (Record Group 107) contains information about African Americans serving at U.S. Army installations and in military units, and the series General Correspondence, 1943–1945 in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338) includes reporting on the combat effectiveness of African-American officers and enlisted men as well as the Army's policies toward African-American units. The series Background Files to the Study "Order of Battle-World War II" in Record Group 319 contains information related to efforts to compile statistics on African-American troops during the war, too. Plus, the series Security Classified General Correspondence, 1943–1946 in the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs (Record Group 165) includes information about the participation of black soldiers in the U.S. military. These records have not been digitized. Please contact RR2R via email at archives2reference@nara.gov for assistance with these records.

These are just a few examples of the types of series that may include some information related to your research. Please be aware that most of the records in the custody of the National Archives (NARA) are not indexed at the document level, so locating a potential document like a specific list or report will likely require reviewing a number of sources. You may wish to use the National Archives Catalog to search for additional, potentially relevant resources. The advanced search features let you narrow your results by record group, type of record, and more. Some records may be digitized and available online in the Catalog, but many records have not been digitized. For access to any non-digitized records, please contact the NARA reference unit listed in each Catalog description.

We also suggest that you review the National Archives Reference Information Paper Records of Military Agencies Relating to African Americans from the Post-World War I Period to the Korean War for more information about records related to African American soldiers and military units during World War II.

You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Finally, the U.S. Army Center of Military History has a number of resources related to African Americans in the U.S. Army available on their website that might be of interest to you. We suggest that you contact them or the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center directly for additional assistance.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!

Dear Rachael Salyer,

Thank you very much for your response and for the efforts you made in conducting the research on my behalf.

Over the weekend I located the following information in one of the online guides.  Can you provide an Index to these records, or do I need to make a separate request?

"lists of African American units  III.165.7.a,  IV.319.1.a" p. 144. 

"list of Negro units III.165.7.a." p. 167.

Thank you again for your assistance.

Jim Lankford

Dear Jim Lankford,

The citations from the National Archives Reference Information Paper Records of Military Agencies Relating to African Americans from the Post-World War I Period to the Korean War refer to these sections in the guide:

III.165.7 Entry 43 Decimal File, 1942–June 1946.

a. Decimal File 291.2 (Race; Colored Troops). Loc: NAII; 390; 30/24/03; 30/31/02; Boxes 441–444 and 796–798.

This citation refers to the series Decimal Files, 1942–1948 in the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs (Record Group 165).

IV.319.1 Entry 2a Decimal File, 1948–54 [Security-Classified General Correspondence, 1948–62].

a. Decimal File 291.2 (Negroes). Loc: NAII; 270; 03/13/06 (1948); 03/15/02 (1949); 03/16/07 (1950); 03/19/01 (1951–52); 03/21/05 (1953); 03/22/04 (1954); Boxes 429, 499, 580, 682, 806, and 850.

This citation refers to the series Security Classified General Correspondence, 1948–1954 in the Records of the Army Staff (Record Group 319).

These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to these records.

We hope this is helpful.

Dear Rachael Slayer,

The decimal files you provided are definitely promising.  Thank you very, very much for the additional information.  I think we can now designate my question as answered.

Best Regards,

Jim Lankford