I have read this with a great deal of interest. I was mindful that Sgt. Fury was an iconoclast of the first water; that Happy Sawyer was simultaneously frustrated with and supportive of him; that the rest of the Army (top to bottom) was both derisive and fearful of the Howlers; and that there was The Army Way and then there were special teams.
Now, what we need to remember was that Bucky was captured and imprisoned in Italy, as were the others whom Steve freed with him.
By the end of September, 1943, the first (Hawaiian) Nisei troops of the 100th Regiment had landed in Italy and were wreaking bloody havoc.
At the beginning of February, 1943, Roosevelt called for an all-Nisei regiment from both the islands and the mainland: the 442nd. As is universally true, there were rivalries between one geographical unit and the other: the mainlanders called the Hawaiians "buddhaheads," or pig-headed; the islanders returned the favor calling them "kotonks" or stoneheads. Typical military thing, then; stupidly stubborn, the lot of them.
The 442nd then resupplied the rapidly-contracting 100th with men through the remainder of the war.
Jim Morito could certainly have come from Fresno at any time after May 1943.
Please note: the 100th had an insane Korean-American commanding officer: Lieutenant Young Oak Kim.
Now to Gabriel Jones. According to the comics, Gabe was born and raised in New York City, where he learned jazz from the Harlem greats. According to the movie, he had been educated at Howard University. HU is in Washington, DC, and it would actually have been possible for Gabe to have come to the attention of someone of influence there, to get him into some sort of special service before the Buffalo soldiers arrived in Italy in July of 1944.
It was 1943 when Bucky was captured and Steve threw off the shackles of entertainment for his true calling. Bucky was in the 107th Infantry Division, which was in fact only an on-paper division during WWII and was never actually organized.
It was, with the 105th Division, supposed to be a Negro Formation.
This instantly tosses us into even more of an alternate universe than the mere presence of vibranium and vita-rays and visitors from theolegendary realms.
With the presence of the 107th Infantry in Italy in 1943, we now have the opportunity to believe that it was found to be needed and was able to be filled, neither of which were true in our history.
Further, we have the opportunity to believe that it was patchworked together from Nisei, Buffalo, and white battalions, each with its own officers, but working together - sometimes (as did happen later) in the same fields of combat, fighting together, rescuing each other, dropping their preconceptions left, right, and rear as they found each other worthy of trust.
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Non-white troops in Europe when Steve was there
Date: 2012-06-18 02:16 am (UTC)Now, what we need to remember was that Bucky was captured and imprisoned in Italy, as were the others whom Steve freed with him.
By the end of September, 1943, the first (Hawaiian) Nisei troops of the 100th Regiment had landed in Italy and were wreaking bloody havoc.
At the beginning of February, 1943, Roosevelt called for an all-Nisei regiment from both the islands and the mainland: the 442nd. As is universally true, there were rivalries between one geographical unit and the other: the mainlanders called the Hawaiians "buddhaheads," or pig-headed; the islanders returned the favor calling them "kotonks" or stoneheads. Typical military thing, then; stupidly stubborn, the lot of them.
The 442nd then resupplied the rapidly-contracting 100th with men through the remainder of the war.
Jim Morito could certainly have come from Fresno at any time after May 1943.
Please note: the 100th had an insane Korean-American commanding officer: Lieutenant Young Oak Kim.
Now to Gabriel Jones. According to the comics, Gabe was born and raised in New York City, where he learned jazz from the Harlem greats. According to the movie, he had been educated at Howard University. HU is in Washington, DC, and it would actually have been possible for Gabe to have come to the attention of someone of influence there, to get him into some sort of special service before the Buffalo soldiers arrived in Italy in July of 1944.
It was 1943 when Bucky was captured and Steve threw off the shackles of entertainment for his true calling. Bucky was in the 107th Infantry Division, which was in fact only an on-paper division during WWII and was never actually organized.
It was, with the 105th Division, supposed to be a Negro Formation.
This instantly tosses us into even more of an alternate universe than the mere presence of vibranium and vita-rays and visitors from theolegendary realms.
With the presence of the 107th Infantry in Italy in 1943, we now have the opportunity to believe that it was found to be needed and was able to be filled, neither of which were true in our history.
Further, we have the opportunity to believe that it was patchworked together from Nisei, Buffalo, and white battalions, each with its own officers, but working together - sometimes (as did happen later) in the same fields of combat, fighting together, rescuing each other, dropping their preconceptions left, right, and rear as they found each other worthy of trust.
Really. It isn't too far of a stretch.
Pictures of African American Army men in WWII
History of the Nisei troops in WWII
Divisions of the United States Army