92nd Infantry Division
May 29, 2006 -
 James White was a member of the 92nd Infantry Division, known as the Buffalo Soldiers Division, in World War II and saw action in Italy. He later became a civil rights activist in St. Augustine. |
It was 62 years ago when James White was drafted. He still remembers how staring at the paper shook him.
He doesn't remember the names of all the places he went while fighting in Italy. He doesn't remember the name of the friend who was killed right behind him. But he remembers the fear.
And he remembers the racism that followed him across the Atlantic.
White was living in Denmark, S.C., when he was drafted at age 23. The idea of the military didn't sit well with him.
"I was shaky until I got used to it," he said.
White continued to fight two battles: racism and World War II.
He was on his way to Fort Bragg, N.C., to get his uniform, when he stopped in a diner.
"They wouldn't serve us because we were black," said White, 85.
After boot camp, White shipped out to Italy as a member of the U.S. Army's 92nd Infantry Division, commonly known as the Buffalo Soldiers Division. The segregated unit was the only black infantry division to see combat in Europe during the war.
"Night would come, and they'd do all their shelling," he said. "Some nights we didn't sleep at all."
In was the day after Thanksgiving that a shell came in and killed his friend, who was right behind White as they got in position.
"He didn't even know what hit him, my buddy," White said.
Fragments from the shell pierced White's right leg, and the German metal is still there to this day.
The injury ended the fighting for White, who left as a private. He came back with a Purple Heart, WWII victory medal, two Bronze Stars, American Theater Medal, a Combat Infantry Badge and a EAME Service medal with two Bronze Service Stars. However he still had battles in the United States.
On his way back, while in Atlanta in uniform, he boarded a bus. He was to the middle when the driver shouted that he might as well go all the way to the back, because that's where he's going to sit.
"(Being a veteran) made no difference in the South," said White. "I didn't feel good about it, but back then there wasn't nothing you could do."
White met his wife Hattie shortly after returning. Together they were involved in the Civil Rights movement in St. Augustine. White, a retired landscaper, was arrested three times in the struggle.
"Everything was so segregated," said Hattie.
"The black soldiers fought for their country, but they didn't really
have a country."