Photograph 578th Field Artillery Battalion!
Recently I bought a photograph of the 578th Field Artillery Battalion.
I write books about the past, the present and the future!
My name is Samuel de Korte. As a historian I specialize in black American soldiers during the Second World War and Dutch soldiers during the Napoleonic wars. Past projects include writing the history of the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion, the first segregated combat unit to win the Distinguished Unit Citation. I translated the memoirs of a Dutch officer that served with Napoleon in Russia in 1812 and I wrote a book about the Tuskegee Airmen. In 2025 a book about the 452nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion will appear. Currently I am working on a book about the 777th Field Artillery Battalion.
Just an image of the 218th Quartermaster Battalion
I am currently on a writing retreat in Italy and I’m focused on my project about the 777th Field Artillery Battalion. In between working on that project, I thought I’d take a small moment to share something with you.
Honoring First Lieutenant John M. Madison: Officer in the 92nd Infantry Division.
On the website of the National Archives and Records Administration, there is a section devoted to images of Black Americans during the Second World War. If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see image 235, with the caption: “Brig. Gen. Robert N. Young, Commanding General of the Military District of Washington, assists Melba Rose, aged 2, daughter of Mrs. Rosie L. Madison,...in viewing the Silver Star posthumously awarded her father 1st Lt. John W. Madison, of the 92nd Infantry Division, who was killed in action in Italy...” Immediately, I was curious. What’s the story behind this image?
May update: A fun surprise
History is full of surprises and sometimes these surprises come when you least expect them.
