ABSTRACT
Immersed in the tenacious fighting during the Battle of the Bulge, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower huddled with Communication Zone Commander J.C.H. Lee to forge a solution to the critical manpower shortage that they confronted during the last winter of World War II. Recognizing that African-American soldiers were an underutilized resource at their disposal, Eisenhower and Lee reached out to them in their appeal for non-combat troops to go to the front: “This opportunity to volunteer will be extended to all soldiers without regard to color or race but preference will normally be given to individuals who have had some basic training in Infantry.”1 By February 1945, 4,562 AfricanAmerican soldiers seized this opportunity, providing a much needed jolt in the arm to the Allied war effort.2
