May update: A fun surprise

History is full of surprises and sometimes these surprises come when you least expect them. As some of you might know, every day I post something on Instagram about Black American soldiers during the Second World War. I also collaborate with people and interact with what they post. Recently @worldwarII_daily posted a photograph, which caught my eye. I've added it below. Perhaps you can also spot it.

(Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration: NAID: 513227)

If not, once you zoom in, you can see that the hands that the hands of the man wearing the life preserver are a different color than those of the surrounding people. He's the man in the red circle. I was intruiged and dug a bit deeper, where I found another photograph. It’s mostlikely made by James L. Lonergan, who is seen standing up with the camera in the first photograph. He's the man in the yellow circle.

(Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration: NAID: 513227)

As you can see in the images below, the Coast Guardsman is a Black American.

(Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration: NAID: 205584118)

This is the original image that James L. Lonergan took, which you can see in the first photograph.

(Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration: NAID: 205584118)

Whereas the discovery of this image doesn’t alter the perception of history, it’s once more a confirmation that Black Americans were there and the contribution of Black Americans during the Second World War.

Interested in more from World War II Daily Postcast? You can find it here.
Interested in what @worldwarII_daily posts on Instagram? You can find it here.

Update 8 May

Another source has been added! It's the book Come Out Fighting: The Epic Tale of the 761st Tank Battalion. It's written by Trezzvant Anderson, a journalist who covered the battalion, and published in 1945. The book is full of stories and photographs. Feel free to check it out here!