1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:31,829 --> 00:00:34,051 Well , good afternoon everyone . Thanks 3 00:00:34,051 --> 00:00:37,599 for being here . That's a pretty 4 00:00:37,610 --> 00:00:40,259 powerful trailer there , Mr Mr Freeman . 5 00:00:42,229 --> 00:00:44,619 I'd like to take uh take this moment to 6 00:00:44,630 --> 00:00:46,686 thank the whole team for taking this 7 00:00:46,686 --> 00:00:50,299 journey and for lending Morgan's 8 00:00:50,310 --> 00:00:53,810 voice to the history of the 7 61st tank 9 00:00:53,819 --> 00:00:57,069 battalion . And as you know , it is 10 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,080 quite a voice . So Morgan , it's great 11 00:01:00,090 --> 00:01:04,000 to have you here . Although around 12 00:01:04,010 --> 00:01:06,489 here to be honest with you , you know , 13 00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:09,769 the whole deep smooth voice thing , 14 00:01:11,050 --> 00:01:12,439 that's really my thing . 15 00:01:14,940 --> 00:01:18,660 Sure . On a serious 16 00:01:18,669 --> 00:01:21,769 note , all Americans should be inspired 17 00:01:21,779 --> 00:01:23,769 by the story of the 7 61st tank 18 00:01:23,779 --> 00:01:26,620 battalion , a unit known as the Black 19 00:01:26,629 --> 00:01:29,739 Panthers . It's an incredible story 20 00:01:30,559 --> 00:01:34,500 in a deeply American story . This 21 00:01:34,510 --> 00:01:37,040 battalion earned its place in our 22 00:01:37,050 --> 00:01:40,180 history alongside the first Rhode 23 00:01:40,190 --> 00:01:42,940 Island regiment , the 54th 24 00:01:42,949 --> 00:01:46,879 Massachusetts Infantry and the Tuskegee 25 00:01:46,889 --> 00:01:50,529 airmen . The 7 61st had to train to 26 00:01:50,540 --> 00:01:54,069 fight Hitler while surrounded by the 27 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,970 racist restrictions of the Jim Crow 28 00:01:56,980 --> 00:02:00,910 South . But they persisted . And 29 00:02:00,919 --> 00:02:04,269 in 1944 they finally saw combat 30 00:02:05,050 --> 00:02:07,217 when they took back a German held town 31 00:02:07,217 --> 00:02:10,589 in France and one of their commanders 32 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,940 remembered my men were tigers . 33 00:02:14,910 --> 00:02:18,320 They fought like seasoned veterans . We 34 00:02:18,330 --> 00:02:21,800 got our lumps and we took that town 35 00:02:23,539 --> 00:02:26,210 and I should say that the commander 36 00:02:26,220 --> 00:02:28,850 included an another word in his comment 37 00:02:28,860 --> 00:02:32,630 right before the word town which anyone 38 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:34,750 who served in combat , you can figure 39 00:02:34,750 --> 00:02:36,806 out what that word might have been . 40 00:02:38,130 --> 00:02:41,169 Now during World war two black troops 41 00:02:41,179 --> 00:02:44,169 call for a double victory for 42 00:02:44,179 --> 00:02:47,649 liberation overseas and for liberty at 43 00:02:47,660 --> 00:02:51,039 home . And that has some important 44 00:02:51,050 --> 00:02:54,800 echoes . Now , 75 years ago , 45 00:02:54,809 --> 00:02:57,031 last week , President Truman signed the 46 00:02:57,031 --> 00:02:59,253 executive order that finally integrated 47 00:02:59,429 --> 00:03:02,610 the , the US military ending 48 00:03:02,619 --> 00:03:05,619 segregation in the US military made us 49 00:03:05,630 --> 00:03:08,559 a stronger force and it made America 50 00:03:08,990 --> 00:03:12,789 more noble and more whole . It's 51 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:15,449 one reason why my own life journey 52 00:03:15,460 --> 00:03:17,516 could take me from growing up in the 53 00:03:17,516 --> 00:03:20,240 Jim Crow South to serving as Secretary 54 00:03:20,250 --> 00:03:23,850 of Defense . And it's one reason , one 55 00:03:23,860 --> 00:03:26,639 key reason why President Biden can 56 00:03:26,649 --> 00:03:28,649 nominate an outstanding war fighter 57 00:03:28,649 --> 00:03:32,509 like Air force General CQ Brown to 58 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:34,409 be our next chairman of the Joint 59 00:03:34,409 --> 00:03:37,529 Chiefs of Staff . Today , our military 60 00:03:37,539 --> 00:03:39,650 draws on the talents and strengths of 61 00:03:39,650 --> 00:03:42,179 all Americans , regardless of color or 62 00:03:42,190 --> 00:03:44,869 creed . And that's why the United 63 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:46,830 States has a strong , strongest 64 00:03:46,839 --> 00:03:49,610 fighting force in history . So we owe a 65 00:03:49,619 --> 00:03:51,786 special debt today to the man of the 7 66 00:03:51,786 --> 00:03:54,949 61st tank battalion . Their story 67 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,199 doesn't just inspire us to serve our 68 00:03:57,210 --> 00:04:00,589 country . It inspires us to stand up 69 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,199 for its founding ideals . So to Morgan 70 00:04:04,210 --> 00:04:06,800 and your whole team , thank you for 71 00:04:06,809 --> 00:04:09,240 bringing this important story to new 72 00:04:09,250 --> 00:04:11,899 audiences . And once again , sir , 73 00:04:11,910 --> 00:04:13,410 thank you for being here . 74 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,031 There's no shock treatment associated 75 00:04:37,031 --> 00:04:39,959 with this is there . Thank you for that . 76 00:04:42,059 --> 00:04:44,170 Well , again , sir , thanks for being 77 00:04:44,170 --> 00:04:47,899 here . Um And I just , with your 78 00:04:47,910 --> 00:04:50,132 permission , I'd just like to ask you a 79 00:04:50,132 --> 00:04:52,410 couple of questions about uh about what 80 00:04:52,420 --> 00:04:55,239 this means to you . You've been working 81 00:04:55,250 --> 00:04:59,070 this project for a long time uh in 82 00:05:00,630 --> 00:05:02,852 you're very , very committed to telling 83 00:05:02,852 --> 00:05:04,963 the story and I just want to know why 84 00:05:04,963 --> 00:05:06,963 it was important to you to tell the 85 00:05:06,963 --> 00:05:09,220 story of the 7 61st . And as you did 86 00:05:09,230 --> 00:05:11,799 that , is there anything that surprised 87 00:05:11,809 --> 00:05:15,709 you ? No , nothing that surprised me . 88 00:05:16,489 --> 00:05:20,160 Uh People hear 89 00:05:20,170 --> 00:05:23,450 about uh black 90 00:05:23,459 --> 00:05:26,820 soldiers , how they import 91 00:05:26,829 --> 00:05:30,239 themselves . Yada , yada , yada . Um 92 00:05:30,869 --> 00:05:34,799 That's not amazing just the 93 00:05:34,809 --> 00:05:37,769 way it is . Uh 94 00:05:39,670 --> 00:05:42,570 the history of blacks in the military 95 00:05:43,929 --> 00:05:47,739 war has always been , I 96 00:05:47,750 --> 00:05:50,769 mean , it's always been 97 00:05:50,959 --> 00:05:54,510 heroic from the revolutionary war 98 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:59,070 to today . The big difference is who 99 00:05:59,079 --> 00:06:02,130 knows about it . What do you know about 100 00:06:02,140 --> 00:06:05,480 it ? Now ? We did the glory 101 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,070 and I had people telling me they wept 102 00:06:10,429 --> 00:06:12,730 when they saw that because they had no 103 00:06:12,739 --> 00:06:15,040 idea , had no idea . 104 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,320 Uh people who grew up and 105 00:06:20,329 --> 00:06:22,700 particularly in the South thinking that 106 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,579 all we did was chop cotton and drive 107 00:06:25,730 --> 00:06:29,290 mules have the history and the legacy 108 00:06:29,299 --> 00:06:33,260 of blacks in America . Uh I grew 109 00:06:33,269 --> 00:06:35,213 up going to the movies , I learned 110 00:06:35,213 --> 00:06:39,179 history from the movies . One 111 00:06:39,190 --> 00:06:41,357 of the things wrong with me , learning 112 00:06:41,357 --> 00:06:44,019 history in the movies was that didn't 113 00:06:44,029 --> 00:06:47,880 see me , that bothered me . 114 00:06:49,589 --> 00:06:53,429 It still bothers me . But if I 115 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,459 want my story told , I have to tell it , 116 00:06:56,470 --> 00:06:59,690 don't I ? And that's my mantra . 117 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,290 If you want your story told , you gotta 118 00:07:04,299 --> 00:07:08,200 tell it . Well , 119 00:07:08,209 --> 00:07:10,890 we all look forward to uh to seeing and 120 00:07:10,899 --> 00:07:13,440 hearing that story , uh being told . 121 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,109 And a and so thanks for your commitment 122 00:07:17,119 --> 00:07:20,190 to this project . A lot of people are 123 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,549 going to learn a lot about this , about 124 00:07:22,559 --> 00:07:25,410 this great unit . Um 125 00:07:27,119 --> 00:07:29,779 And by the way , Gloria is still one of 126 00:07:29,790 --> 00:07:33,070 my uh my favorite films . And I think 127 00:07:33,079 --> 00:07:35,135 that there's probably a , a bunch of 128 00:07:35,135 --> 00:07:37,246 other folks in the room who would say 129 00:07:37,246 --> 00:07:39,579 the same thing just extremely well done . 130 00:07:39,579 --> 00:07:41,899 And uh and so thanks for , for bringing 131 00:07:41,910 --> 00:07:44,290 that to uh to all of us , 132 00:07:45,799 --> 00:07:48,279 Morgan , as I said in my opening and I 133 00:07:48,290 --> 00:07:50,709 know you were at Howard last week . Uh 134 00:07:51,119 --> 00:07:53,809 We just marked the 75th anniversary of 135 00:07:53,820 --> 00:07:55,987 President Truman signing the executive 136 00:07:55,987 --> 00:07:59,709 order and that order was 9981 and that 137 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,329 desegregated the military . Uh We both 138 00:08:03,339 --> 00:08:05,640 know progress has been made , but 139 00:08:05,649 --> 00:08:09,059 there's more to be done . So I'd like 140 00:08:09,070 --> 00:08:12,250 to ask you uh in terms of how you see 141 00:08:12,260 --> 00:08:14,427 things , where , where do you think we 142 00:08:14,427 --> 00:08:17,029 are today ? Uh And uh and , and , and 143 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:20,320 how do you see this , uh 144 00:08:20,399 --> 00:08:23,260 you mean in the military or just in 145 00:08:23,269 --> 00:08:25,510 America ? Uh We we'll start with the 146 00:08:25,519 --> 00:08:27,741 military and then we'll go to America . 147 00:08:27,741 --> 00:08:29,963 Well , obviously , I mean , I'm sitting 148 00:08:29,963 --> 00:08:32,241 here , I'm looking at our military and , 149 00:08:32,390 --> 00:08:35,659 yeah , this is America . This is it . 150 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,640 Oh , now if the rest of the world , 151 00:08:41,650 --> 00:08:44,848 rest of our country gets on board , 152 00:08:46,489 --> 00:08:49,739 maybe be , world beat us , world beat 153 00:08:49,750 --> 00:08:53,530 us socially , economically 154 00:08:53,539 --> 00:08:55,706 militarily . However you wanna look at 155 00:08:55,706 --> 00:08:59,679 it because if you said as a fighting 156 00:08:59,690 --> 00:09:01,746 force with the , for the best in the 157 00:09:01,746 --> 00:09:05,210 world as a 158 00:09:05,219 --> 00:09:07,590 country , we want to be the best in the 159 00:09:07,599 --> 00:09:07,989 world 160 00:09:11,570 --> 00:09:13,969 the time . I see it . Yeah . 161 00:09:16,349 --> 00:09:19,510 And so , uh , I , I would absolutely 162 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,859 agree with you . Uh , that , uh and we 163 00:09:22,869 --> 00:09:24,925 are a diverse military . That's what 164 00:09:24,925 --> 00:09:27,036 we're all about . We , we reflect the 165 00:09:27,036 --> 00:09:30,789 country that we , we serve and uh we're 166 00:09:30,799 --> 00:09:32,743 going to continue to make sure our 167 00:09:32,743 --> 00:09:34,910 leaders reflect the military that it , 168 00:09:34,910 --> 00:09:38,229 that it leads , that they lead , um , 169 00:09:38,570 --> 00:09:41,530 unknown to some people . Uh Morgan , 170 00:09:41,719 --> 00:09:45,280 you actually served in uniform and uh 171 00:09:45,289 --> 00:09:47,679 you were in the United States Air Force . 172 00:09:47,719 --> 00:09:51,580 I was , uh but you've also served 173 00:09:51,590 --> 00:09:55,150 by telling stories like this . What uh 174 00:09:55,159 --> 00:09:57,630 what is your advice for young people 175 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,580 who would , uh who would look to serve 176 00:10:01,590 --> 00:10:04,809 or who are thinking about serving ? So , 177 00:10:06,330 --> 00:10:10,179 uh there was , I don't 178 00:10:10,190 --> 00:10:14,070 think there was anybody who gets into 179 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,159 the military and doesn't benefit . 180 00:10:18,020 --> 00:10:20,729 Uh I learned so much in that three 181 00:10:20,739 --> 00:10:22,683 years , eight months and 10 days . 182 00:10:26,219 --> 00:10:28,219 What part of that was funny ? Three 183 00:10:28,219 --> 00:10:31,239 years a month or 10 days . Yeah . Y'all 184 00:10:31,250 --> 00:10:33,417 wanna hear an anecdote about me in the 185 00:10:33,417 --> 00:10:36,950 military and why I wasn't fit . Sure . 186 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:40,309 Sure . Hopefully I was assigned to 187 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,376 radar maintenance . Now I'm about as 188 00:10:42,376 --> 00:10:46,330 mechanical as a bug . Uh , 189 00:10:46,479 --> 00:10:50,090 but there was a young man in the office 190 00:10:50,099 --> 00:10:52,510 and I came out of high school being 191 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,340 able to type 6 to 5 words a minute . So 192 00:10:56,349 --> 00:10:59,390 this young man in the office had a 193 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:01,567 girlfriend who was way , way , way too 194 00:11:01,567 --> 00:11:05,460 young and he got arrested . So I 195 00:11:05,469 --> 00:11:08,729 volunteered because me and an Underwood 196 00:11:08,739 --> 00:11:11,049 typewriter were close friends and I 197 00:11:11,059 --> 00:11:13,226 could compose letters . I could do , I 198 00:11:13,226 --> 00:11:15,281 could better at that than it may not 199 00:11:15,289 --> 00:11:18,989 make . So one day we get a new sergeant 200 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,700 in two rockers deck 201 00:11:23,919 --> 00:11:27,500 black . I have a captain who is 202 00:11:27,590 --> 00:11:31,440 fight this sergeant checks in and he's 203 00:11:31,450 --> 00:11:34,510 just come in from Greenland Sergeant 204 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,742 Spalding . I want you to meet one of my 205 00:11:36,742 --> 00:11:38,964 best men . Your best man is a wonderful 206 00:11:38,964 --> 00:11:42,679 volunteers . Mhm . So I go in there 207 00:11:42,690 --> 00:11:45,849 and , and I say sergeant , it's nice to 208 00:11:45,859 --> 00:11:48,026 meet you . I'm sure you keep your nose 209 00:11:48,026 --> 00:11:50,780 clean . We'll get on . All right . He 210 00:11:50,789 --> 00:11:52,789 had an eyebrow that could touch his 211 00:11:52,789 --> 00:11:53,789 hairline . 212 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,047 Said , you want to take this box up to 213 00:11:59,047 --> 00:12:01,570 the Sixth Tower ? Go . 214 00:12:03,369 --> 00:12:07,340 I'm a two striper . There's a captain 215 00:12:07,349 --> 00:12:09,979 sitting right there . What did you say ? 216 00:12:12,039 --> 00:12:12,809 Said , no , 217 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,567 the captain sitting right here and his 218 00:12:21,567 --> 00:12:23,849 name was Charles . He just kept his 219 00:12:23,859 --> 00:12:27,710 head down and this 220 00:12:27,719 --> 00:12:30,159 sergeant couldn't figure out what he 221 00:12:30,169 --> 00:12:33,239 was going to do , slap me 222 00:12:34,450 --> 00:12:38,369 or what . So just before he decided , 223 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,599 I said beside it , uh if you want me to 224 00:12:42,609 --> 00:12:44,720 take the six , this box up to the six 225 00:12:44,729 --> 00:12:46,729 tower , you tell me to do it , it's 226 00:12:46,729 --> 00:12:48,896 gone . But you asked me if I wanted to 227 00:12:48,896 --> 00:12:50,507 and the answer is still no , 228 00:12:55,270 --> 00:12:59,179 you , he never 229 00:12:59,190 --> 00:13:00,919 forgot that lesson . Mhm . 230 00:13:04,049 --> 00:13:06,580 Well , Mr Freeman , uh I , I'm getting 231 00:13:06,590 --> 00:13:08,979 the hook here from uh from the general , 232 00:13:08,989 --> 00:13:12,960 but I wanna thank you again for , for 233 00:13:12,969 --> 00:13:16,210 um this tremendous piece of work and we 234 00:13:16,219 --> 00:13:18,386 all look forward to uh to seeing it in 235 00:13:18,386 --> 00:13:21,059 full . Uh Also thank you for your 236 00:13:21,070 --> 00:13:23,960 service to our country and thank you 237 00:13:23,969 --> 00:13:26,136 for your continued service and telling 238 00:13:26,136 --> 00:13:29,409 uh the American story . And uh uh 239 00:13:29,799 --> 00:13:32,200 we are really , really grateful for all 240 00:13:32,210 --> 00:13:34,510 that you do so . God bless you . Get 241 00:13:34,659 --> 00:13:35,659 out of bed . 242 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:44,784 Well , Mr Freeman , Mr Secretary , 243 00:13:44,784 --> 00:13:46,507 thank you both for that , very 244 00:13:46,507 --> 00:13:48,229 interesting and very important 245 00:13:48,229 --> 00:13:50,396 discussion . We're thankful to both of 246 00:13:50,396 --> 00:13:52,618 you for your time today . Uh And as you 247 00:13:52,618 --> 00:13:54,673 depart for the audience , uh we will 248 00:13:54,673 --> 00:13:56,951 show another clip from the documentary . 249 00:13:57,530 --> 00:14:01,469 Thank you . Yes , sir . Now I'm 250 00:14:01,479 --> 00:14:03,590 pleased to welcome Mr Freeman back to 251 00:14:03,590 --> 00:14:05,812 the stage with our other panelists , Mr 252 00:14:05,812 --> 00:14:08,830 Phil Burleson , director Mr Charles 253 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:10,909 Bory , executive director , us Army 254 00:14:10,919 --> 00:14:13,830 Center of military history and Mr James , 255 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,062 younger executive producer . Let's give 256 00:14:16,070 --> 00:14:17,190 them a round of 257 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,840 alright . Ok . Well , gentlemen . Well , 258 00:14:35,849 --> 00:14:37,905 I'll jump right in with , uh , a few 259 00:14:37,905 --> 00:14:39,960 questions at the top . We'll , we'll 260 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,071 start with Mr Freeman and then anyone 261 00:14:42,071 --> 00:14:44,238 feel free to , to jump in . Um , sir , 262 00:14:44,238 --> 00:14:46,405 it struck me that despite the way that 263 00:14:46,405 --> 00:14:48,679 the members of the 7 61st were treated 264 00:14:48,690 --> 00:14:50,801 back home here in the United States , 265 00:14:51,559 --> 00:14:53,559 they all went overseas to Europe to 266 00:14:53,559 --> 00:14:55,781 fight for our country and your research 267 00:14:55,781 --> 00:14:57,892 in the interviews that you did . What 268 00:14:57,892 --> 00:14:59,948 did you learn about the soldiers and 269 00:14:59,948 --> 00:15:02,003 what was their motivation to do that 270 00:15:03,869 --> 00:15:05,813 to do ? What to go fight for their 271 00:15:05,813 --> 00:15:06,813 country ? 272 00:15:13,820 --> 00:15:17,070 I don't know what motivates men to go 273 00:15:17,479 --> 00:15:20,650 into harm's way . Um 274 00:15:23,580 --> 00:15:25,260 But I , 275 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,690 there have been blacks fighting for the 276 00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:33,250 United States since the civil , since 277 00:15:33,260 --> 00:15:37,070 the revolutionary war . What 278 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,909 motivates ? I don't know 279 00:15:41,239 --> 00:15:44,150 to tell you the truth . Um 280 00:15:48,010 --> 00:15:52,010 God and country , where are you 281 00:15:52,020 --> 00:15:55,359 gonna go with ? You don't , I mean this 282 00:15:55,369 --> 00:15:58,419 was always talking about this country , 283 00:15:59,489 --> 00:16:01,000 always had that 284 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,119 constitution that all men are 285 00:16:08,130 --> 00:16:11,890 created equal part of the constitution 286 00:16:12,590 --> 00:16:15,280 endowed with inalienable rights of life , 287 00:16:15,289 --> 00:16:18,570 liberty and pursuit of happiness . We 288 00:16:18,580 --> 00:16:20,820 buy that . Everybody buys that . All 289 00:16:20,830 --> 00:16:23,659 Americans buy it that 290 00:16:24,799 --> 00:16:28,750 concept . It's worth fighting for . 291 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,390 We all know it . So I think I'm making 292 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:33,678 this up mind you , but 293 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:38,090 that's my belief . 294 00:16:41,030 --> 00:16:43,599 Turn into the , the production of this 295 00:16:43,609 --> 00:16:46,119 story . Uh Mr Burson or Mr Younger , 296 00:16:46,130 --> 00:16:48,074 this story has so many elements uh 297 00:16:48,074 --> 00:16:50,219 whether it was the racism or 298 00:16:50,229 --> 00:16:52,960 segregation that the 7 61st experienced 299 00:16:52,969 --> 00:16:55,539 the two years in training , uh which is 300 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,090 pretty intense , the combat record and 301 00:16:59,099 --> 00:17:01,859 then their experiences after the war . 302 00:17:02,159 --> 00:17:04,492 How did you approach telling this story ? 303 00:17:04,492 --> 00:17:06,359 And did you find a common theme 304 00:17:06,369 --> 00:17:08,258 throughout all of those different 305 00:17:08,258 --> 00:17:11,750 threads ? Uh Thanks for the question . 306 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,538 I , you know , this story came to me 307 00:17:14,548 --> 00:17:16,659 through Mr Freeman and Mr Younger and 308 00:17:16,659 --> 00:17:19,009 Miss mccreary and just very grateful 309 00:17:19,019 --> 00:17:21,075 that I've had the opportunity and it 310 00:17:21,075 --> 00:17:23,241 was not a story I knew very well . But 311 00:17:23,241 --> 00:17:25,668 the closer I looked , the more I 312 00:17:25,678 --> 00:17:27,789 realized that there was a lot more to 313 00:17:27,789 --> 00:17:30,279 this story than just some men who got 314 00:17:30,288 --> 00:17:33,369 in a tank and fought the Nazis . And it 315 00:17:33,380 --> 00:17:36,050 became a real passion of mine to , to 316 00:17:36,060 --> 00:17:38,060 know more about the lives that they 317 00:17:38,060 --> 00:17:40,116 lived before they went into battle . 318 00:17:40,116 --> 00:17:41,893 And after , and I think to your 319 00:17:41,893 --> 00:17:45,150 question earlier , it was um a group of 320 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,910 men that really found this opportunity 321 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,609 to represent a country that they felt 322 00:17:53,109 --> 00:17:55,969 would live up to its ideals , given the 323 00:17:55,979 --> 00:17:58,500 chance and they set out to prove that 324 00:17:58,750 --> 00:18:00,806 um in their , in their fighting , in 325 00:18:00,806 --> 00:18:03,900 their training . Um And um and , and 326 00:18:03,910 --> 00:18:06,077 that's really what motivated them . Uh 327 00:18:06,077 --> 00:18:08,949 Honestly , I think to go from second 328 00:18:08,959 --> 00:18:11,959 class citizens to full citizenship and 329 00:18:11,969 --> 00:18:14,790 um and they fought valiantly um to do 330 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,660 that and um came home unfortunately , 331 00:18:17,670 --> 00:18:20,739 and were not received as heroes . Um 332 00:18:20,750 --> 00:18:23,949 And um you know , that motivated them 333 00:18:23,959 --> 00:18:26,390 even further . Um Many of them got 334 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,579 active in a burgeoning civil rights 335 00:18:28,589 --> 00:18:30,700 movement at the time and , and fought 336 00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:32,719 for their civil rights . Um And so 337 00:18:32,729 --> 00:18:35,819 there's a kind of long legacy of , of 338 00:18:35,829 --> 00:18:38,319 fighting for your human rights um and 339 00:18:38,425 --> 00:18:41,175 fighting fascism abroad um to come home 340 00:18:41,185 --> 00:18:43,494 and , and fight racism and , and , and 341 00:18:43,505 --> 00:18:45,727 eventually they were recognized for all 342 00:18:45,727 --> 00:18:48,755 of that . Um And um so we were grateful 343 00:18:48,765 --> 00:18:50,932 to have the opportunity to tell it all 344 00:18:50,932 --> 00:18:52,876 because without the context of the 345 00:18:52,876 --> 00:18:55,043 world in which they lived , that their 346 00:18:55,043 --> 00:18:57,944 valiant efforts abroad would probably 347 00:18:57,954 --> 00:19:01,920 be lost or under understated . Great . 348 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,222 Thank you . I was just to add to that , 349 00:19:04,222 --> 00:19:06,222 that , you know , we , there's this 350 00:19:06,222 --> 00:19:08,278 window of opportunity of telling the 351 00:19:08,278 --> 00:19:10,729 story was closing in the , in the fact 352 00:19:10,739 --> 00:19:14,030 that the last two or three members of 353 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:17,050 the 7 61st are alive only only just , I 354 00:19:17,060 --> 00:19:19,227 mean , we , we , there's Robert Andrew 355 00:19:19,227 --> 00:19:21,920 who's 98 years old . Now there's one of 356 00:19:21,930 --> 00:19:24,449 the couple of other people who are not 357 00:19:24,459 --> 00:19:26,681 well enough really to talk , you know , 358 00:19:26,681 --> 00:19:29,329 so that wanting to capture before the 359 00:19:29,339 --> 00:19:31,506 chance is gone , that or a direct oral 360 00:19:31,506 --> 00:19:34,510 history um from the survivors and from 361 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,939 many of the Children and grandchildren 362 00:19:36,949 --> 00:19:39,579 of the survivors like to hear what was 363 00:19:39,589 --> 00:19:42,319 passed down . And that was some of your 364 00:19:42,420 --> 00:19:44,420 organizing principle of the film is 365 00:19:44,420 --> 00:19:46,642 that it really would be told as much as 366 00:19:46,642 --> 00:19:49,880 possible through that first person or 367 00:19:49,890 --> 00:19:52,280 handed down first person testimony . 368 00:19:52,430 --> 00:19:54,670 Yeah , fascinating . Uh And you 369 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,079 highlight uh the , the recognition I 370 00:19:57,089 --> 00:20:00,390 think ultimately 300 purple hearts , 11 371 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,511 silver stars and a medal of honor out 372 00:20:02,511 --> 00:20:04,733 of this one unit . It's pretty , pretty 373 00:20:04,733 --> 00:20:07,619 amazing . Um Mr Barry from a historical 374 00:20:07,630 --> 00:20:09,719 standpoint , um How do you see the 375 00:20:09,729 --> 00:20:12,839 actions of the 7 61st ultimately 376 00:20:12,849 --> 00:20:15,016 impacting the US military that we have 377 00:20:15,016 --> 00:20:17,300 today ? That's a great question . And 378 00:20:17,719 --> 00:20:19,890 uh I think starting with , you know , 379 00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:22,178 one of the things that Mr Freeman said , 380 00:20:22,178 --> 00:20:24,400 and what Secretary Austin alluded to is 381 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,567 that throughout our history , military 382 00:20:26,567 --> 00:20:28,344 service has been a core part of 383 00:20:28,344 --> 00:20:30,339 citizenship . Uh And so uh black 384 00:20:30,349 --> 00:20:33,079 soldiers have fought to demonstrate 385 00:20:33,180 --> 00:20:35,969 their citizenship . Uh And throughout 386 00:20:35,979 --> 00:20:39,540 our history , uh with the 7 61st and 387 00:20:39,550 --> 00:20:42,290 other units like it did was incredibly 388 00:20:42,300 --> 00:20:44,479 important because one of the , one of 389 00:20:44,489 --> 00:20:46,430 the core ideas of Jim Crow of 390 00:20:46,439 --> 00:20:49,880 segregation was that black people 391 00:20:50,459 --> 00:20:53,479 could not perform in combat , that they 392 00:20:53,489 --> 00:20:57,130 could not take up a weapon and serve in 393 00:20:57,140 --> 00:20:59,251 harm's way . And in fact , there were 394 00:20:59,251 --> 00:21:01,251 studies after , for example , after 395 00:21:01,251 --> 00:21:03,307 World War one , the army War College 396 00:21:03,307 --> 00:21:05,307 commissioned a study that said , uh 397 00:21:05,307 --> 00:21:07,989 with scientific basis that black 398 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,167 soldiers could not be trusted to serve 399 00:21:10,167 --> 00:21:12,278 in combat units , they didn't possess 400 00:21:12,278 --> 00:21:14,849 the mental or physical attributes to , 401 00:21:14,859 --> 00:21:17,310 to , to undergo that responsibility and 402 00:21:17,319 --> 00:21:20,050 to and to serve in harm's way . So what 403 00:21:20,060 --> 00:21:22,116 units like the 7 61st , which is the 404 00:21:22,116 --> 00:21:23,949 combat arms unit ? It's an armor 405 00:21:23,949 --> 00:21:25,949 battalion , a tank battalion . What 406 00:21:25,949 --> 00:21:28,116 they did was demonstrate that this was 407 00:21:28,116 --> 00:21:30,770 nonsense . Uh And those statistics bear 408 00:21:30,780 --> 00:21:33,589 it out 300 purple hearts . So a third 409 00:21:33,599 --> 00:21:35,488 of the unit's strength wounded in 410 00:21:35,488 --> 00:21:37,543 combat , a medal of honor . And I'll 411 00:21:37,543 --> 00:21:39,321 add to that a presidential unit 412 00:21:39,321 --> 00:21:41,432 citation . Uh Those aren't just given 413 00:21:41,432 --> 00:21:44,589 out like paper , uh a puc for uh for , 414 00:21:44,599 --> 00:21:46,930 for the 7 61st tank battalion for 100 415 00:21:46,939 --> 00:21:49,449 and 80 days , six months straight in 416 00:21:49,459 --> 00:21:52,989 combat . And so in particular , I'm , 417 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,111 I'm interested in the degree to which 418 00:21:55,111 --> 00:21:58,239 these combat arms units uh full of 419 00:21:58,250 --> 00:22:00,083 infantry and armor and artillery 420 00:22:00,083 --> 00:22:02,719 soldiers demonstrated full citizenship 421 00:22:02,729 --> 00:22:04,618 and they really put that double V 422 00:22:04,618 --> 00:22:08,079 campaign into action . And I think that 423 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:12,099 that established the idea that that the 424 00:22:12,109 --> 00:22:14,849 the concept of a segregated unit was , 425 00:22:14,859 --> 00:22:17,081 was just nonsense . It was a nonstarter 426 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:18,786 and what they did was lay the 427 00:22:18,786 --> 00:22:21,349 groundwork as we move forward in , in 428 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,581 the country's history to the Korean War 429 00:22:23,581 --> 00:22:25,920 era in which which black soldiers under 430 00:22:25,930 --> 00:22:28,041 the stresses and strains of combat in 431 00:22:28,041 --> 00:22:30,579 Korea when the force required men 432 00:22:30,589 --> 00:22:32,811 required replacements , particularly in 433 00:22:32,811 --> 00:22:34,867 the early days of the war . Uh The , 434 00:22:34,867 --> 00:22:38,540 the US army issues a call for 435 00:22:38,550 --> 00:22:40,609 black soldiers who were serving in 436 00:22:40,619 --> 00:22:43,390 segregated labor units behind the , the 437 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,359 uh behind the lines , construction 438 00:22:45,369 --> 00:22:48,469 units , logistic units to volunteer to 439 00:22:48,479 --> 00:22:50,701 serve as infantrymen in combat and they 440 00:22:50,701 --> 00:22:53,229 enlisted in large numbers . Uh and they 441 00:22:53,239 --> 00:22:55,729 were responsible for turning that tide 442 00:22:55,739 --> 00:22:57,739 in the Korean War . And that , that 443 00:22:57,739 --> 00:22:59,906 process of demonstrating their fitness 444 00:22:59,906 --> 00:23:01,969 for combat and citizenship be really 445 00:23:01,979 --> 00:23:04,219 begins with units like the 7 61st . 446 00:23:04,310 --> 00:23:07,119 Thank you . Now , Mr Freeman , um 447 00:23:07,430 --> 00:23:09,263 You've talked about your uncle's 448 00:23:09,263 --> 00:23:12,229 service um As you were working on this 449 00:23:12,239 --> 00:23:16,040 documentary . Um What , what was it 450 00:23:16,050 --> 00:23:18,272 like ? Learning more about your uncle ? 451 00:23:18,272 --> 00:23:20,439 What was it like , learning more about 452 00:23:20,439 --> 00:23:22,494 the military that he had served in ? 453 00:23:22,494 --> 00:23:25,420 Surprise . Big surprise 454 00:23:26,819 --> 00:23:30,300 because when I was like six , I 455 00:23:30,310 --> 00:23:33,420 guess 67 years old , 456 00:23:35,020 --> 00:23:38,280 I somehow got the information that one 457 00:23:38,290 --> 00:23:40,819 of my uncles was Mi A in the Pacific . 458 00:23:41,189 --> 00:23:44,589 So I grew up in one of my uncles , 459 00:23:45,209 --> 00:23:48,400 Mi A in the Pacific . Yeah , and turns 460 00:23:48,410 --> 00:23:52,060 out that wasn't so at all , thanks to 461 00:23:52,069 --> 00:23:55,489 these guys . Uh So I had , I had my , 462 00:23:55,500 --> 00:23:58,849 my , my biological father , my 463 00:23:58,859 --> 00:24:02,349 stepfather and two uncles all served 464 00:24:02,750 --> 00:24:06,390 in the army . Um But 465 00:24:07,619 --> 00:24:10,959 yeah , I did one thing that I learned 466 00:24:10,969 --> 00:24:13,191 and this is from that term , the fog of 467 00:24:13,191 --> 00:24:15,359 war soldiers who have been in combat 468 00:24:15,369 --> 00:24:18,739 don't come back bragging or even able 469 00:24:18,750 --> 00:24:22,619 to seriously sell and talk about it 470 00:24:23,420 --> 00:24:25,709 unless of course it's among themselves , 471 00:24:26,489 --> 00:24:28,545 but you can't do it with civilians . 472 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,469 People who have never been in that 473 00:24:32,479 --> 00:24:36,310 kind of situation . The , the 474 00:24:36,319 --> 00:24:39,380 minute is over . Mhm . 475 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:45,020 Thank you . Um We've talked about sort 476 00:24:45,030 --> 00:24:48,150 of your approach to producing and , and 477 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,271 filming this documentary . Um But can 478 00:24:50,271 --> 00:24:52,382 you talk a little bit about what some 479 00:24:52,382 --> 00:24:54,382 of the challenges were , especially 480 00:24:54,382 --> 00:24:56,604 given the fact that we're talking about 481 00:24:56,604 --> 00:24:58,771 a unit that fought over 70 years ago ? 482 00:24:59,609 --> 00:25:01,680 Well , I'll start and and say that , 483 00:25:01,689 --> 00:25:03,911 you know , often with history , it's um 484 00:25:03,911 --> 00:25:06,500 the challenge is finding the evidence , 485 00:25:06,510 --> 00:25:09,859 um finding enough visual material um to , 486 00:25:09,869 --> 00:25:12,500 to tell the story in an interesting way . 487 00:25:12,510 --> 00:25:16,099 And that also begins with who's left to 488 00:25:16,109 --> 00:25:18,310 tell the story that um and we were 489 00:25:18,319 --> 00:25:20,541 fortunate enough as James said to , you 490 00:25:20,541 --> 00:25:22,680 know , have a , a surviving member of 491 00:25:22,689 --> 00:25:25,869 the 7 61st who could help us go 492 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,819 back um to those days um in battling 493 00:25:29,829 --> 00:25:31,885 his descendants . Um And , and , and 494 00:25:31,885 --> 00:25:33,773 those who were descended of other 495 00:25:33,773 --> 00:25:35,770 veterans . So , um the biggest 496 00:25:35,780 --> 00:25:37,447 challenge is really the , the 497 00:25:37,447 --> 00:25:39,447 collection of the history and , and 498 00:25:39,447 --> 00:25:41,336 assembling it in a way that feels 499 00:25:41,336 --> 00:25:43,500 complete and , and , and honest . Um 500 00:25:43,510 --> 00:25:47,150 And uh yeah , entertaining too 501 00:25:47,349 --> 00:25:50,680 to some extent . Um Yeah , I , I 502 00:25:50,689 --> 00:25:53,300 think that this , what kind of ties 503 00:25:53,310 --> 00:25:56,040 this story together in a way is this 504 00:25:56,050 --> 00:25:58,520 telling the story is , is so important 505 00:25:58,530 --> 00:26:00,900 because people , as you said , Morgan , 506 00:26:00,910 --> 00:26:02,966 people who come back from more often 507 00:26:02,966 --> 00:26:05,188 don't tell their own story . They don't 508 00:26:05,188 --> 00:26:07,243 want to tell their own story the day 509 00:26:07,243 --> 00:26:09,354 that we filmed with Robert Andre . Um 510 00:26:09,709 --> 00:26:13,339 He's 98 years old now 97 at the time 511 00:26:13,619 --> 00:26:16,069 and with his family who , you know , 512 00:26:16,079 --> 00:26:18,135 are all very much . I mean , his son 513 00:26:18,329 --> 00:26:20,939 has been supporting him going out and , 514 00:26:21,030 --> 00:26:23,439 you know , to events and commemorations 515 00:26:23,449 --> 00:26:25,750 for many years . But he said on that , 516 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,520 the day that we spent , what one hour 517 00:26:28,530 --> 00:26:30,699 talking with Morgan , he heard things 518 00:26:30,709 --> 00:26:32,598 he'd never heard before about his 519 00:26:32,598 --> 00:26:34,829 father's action . When you think , how 520 00:26:34,839 --> 00:26:37,006 does someone not talk about that for , 521 00:26:37,006 --> 00:26:39,750 for , um , you know , for , for 80 522 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,880 years , 70 years , 70 years , all that 523 00:26:42,890 --> 00:26:46,880 time he was having 524 00:26:46,949 --> 00:26:50,770 shrapnel come , you know , have like a 525 00:26:51,270 --> 00:26:55,060 something will work its way out . Hm , 526 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:59,109 trap him , work his way out of his body . 527 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,336 But this and this is , this is why I 528 00:27:05,336 --> 00:27:07,336 think that that's so , I mean , you 529 00:27:07,336 --> 00:27:09,699 should say this , but I also comment on 530 00:27:09,709 --> 00:27:12,989 this , that recognition by the military , 531 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,160 by the country that you fought for is 532 00:27:15,170 --> 00:27:17,448 important because you don't , it's not , 533 00:27:18,140 --> 00:27:20,239 shouldn't be on the combatants 534 00:27:20,250 --> 00:27:22,417 themselves to have to tell the story , 535 00:27:22,417 --> 00:27:24,583 it should be documented . They deserve 536 00:27:24,583 --> 00:27:26,917 that for having gone through the battle , 537 00:27:26,917 --> 00:27:29,028 gone through all the trauma of war to 538 00:27:29,028 --> 00:27:30,806 be , to be recognized and to be 539 00:27:30,806 --> 00:27:34,280 properly documented . What was his 540 00:27:34,290 --> 00:27:37,319 reaction when you showed up and said 541 00:27:37,329 --> 00:27:39,496 we're making a documentary about the 7 542 00:27:39,496 --> 00:27:42,369 61st , you know , his , his son was 543 00:27:42,380 --> 00:27:44,269 pretty much his caretaker in that 544 00:27:44,269 --> 00:27:46,491 regard and he was very reluctant , very 545 00:27:46,491 --> 00:27:48,436 reluctant witness . And often when 546 00:27:48,436 --> 00:27:50,602 you're telling stories , the reluctant 547 00:27:50,602 --> 00:27:52,602 witness is the best . Um if you can 548 00:27:52,602 --> 00:27:54,936 somehow convince them to share . And so , 549 00:27:54,936 --> 00:27:57,400 uh when they heard that Mr Freeman was 550 00:27:57,410 --> 00:28:00,869 willing to pay them a visit , um they 551 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,420 changed their minds . Um So , uh and , 552 00:28:04,430 --> 00:28:06,208 and so that's , that's how that 553 00:28:06,208 --> 00:28:08,152 happened . And to the point of the 554 00:28:08,152 --> 00:28:10,152 shrapnel , his son used this really 555 00:28:10,152 --> 00:28:12,609 poetic term and hearing the story and 556 00:28:12,619 --> 00:28:14,730 hearing elements of the story for the 557 00:28:14,730 --> 00:28:16,897 first time . He said , it's a lot like 558 00:28:16,897 --> 00:28:18,897 the shrapnel that's still revealing 559 00:28:18,897 --> 00:28:21,063 itself out of my father's body . These 560 00:28:21,063 --> 00:28:23,119 elements of the story that I'd never 561 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:25,900 heard um are coming to the fore . So we 562 00:28:25,910 --> 00:28:27,688 were really pleased to have the 563 00:28:27,688 --> 00:28:29,743 opportunity to meet him and , and to 564 00:28:29,743 --> 00:28:31,577 talk about the recognition , the 565 00:28:31,577 --> 00:28:33,743 delayed recognition in many ways . And 566 00:28:33,743 --> 00:28:35,854 we knew there was a presidential unit 567 00:28:35,854 --> 00:28:38,021 citation offered to this unit , but it 568 00:28:38,021 --> 00:28:41,849 was in 1978 under uh President 569 00:28:41,859 --> 00:28:45,670 Carter . Um some what 30 plus 570 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,780 years after , uh they were in the 571 00:28:47,790 --> 00:28:50,859 theater of war and it took an effort of , 572 00:28:50,869 --> 00:28:54,699 of veterans and lobbyists to , you know , 573 00:28:54,709 --> 00:28:56,979 to champion that . Um and they , they 574 00:28:56,989 --> 00:28:59,156 ultimately got that recognition . So , 575 00:29:00,380 --> 00:29:02,979 um Mr Bory , um you talked earlier 576 00:29:02,989 --> 00:29:05,359 about uh sort of the change in 577 00:29:05,369 --> 00:29:08,199 perceptions uh as it related to Black 578 00:29:08,209 --> 00:29:10,431 Americans serving in the military . But 579 00:29:10,431 --> 00:29:12,265 can you help us put in a broader 580 00:29:12,265 --> 00:29:14,339 context ? Uh What factors led to 581 00:29:14,349 --> 00:29:16,569 President Truman signing the executive 582 00:29:16,579 --> 00:29:19,920 order that ultimately uh um 583 00:29:19,930 --> 00:29:22,920 desegregated the military ? Absolutely . 584 00:29:22,930 --> 00:29:25,699 Uh It was , uh you know , it was , it 585 00:29:25,709 --> 00:29:27,820 was a really contingent process and I 586 00:29:27,820 --> 00:29:30,859 think we lose that now , 75 years later , 587 00:29:30,869 --> 00:29:34,510 we , we lose a sense . Uh We , we , we 588 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:36,687 tend to think of it as inevitable that 589 00:29:36,687 --> 00:29:38,909 this is just the arc of social progress 590 00:29:38,909 --> 00:29:40,909 that it just happens uh when it was 591 00:29:40,909 --> 00:29:43,099 absolutely not the case uh in 1948 . 592 00:29:43,109 --> 00:29:45,810 And so President Truman , uh and I was 593 00:29:45,819 --> 00:29:47,763 really honored to and fortunate to 594 00:29:47,763 --> 00:29:49,986 attend a seminar last week sponsored by 595 00:29:49,986 --> 00:29:52,152 the Truman Library and Foundation here 596 00:29:52,152 --> 00:29:54,319 in DC . Uh getting into the historical 597 00:29:54,319 --> 00:29:56,541 context of the executive order . Uh And 598 00:29:56,541 --> 00:29:58,708 one of the key things that came out of 599 00:29:58,708 --> 00:30:00,479 that , that discussion was the 600 00:30:00,489 --> 00:30:02,545 incredibly contingent nature of this 601 00:30:02,545 --> 00:30:04,969 executive order . So it's 1948 . Uh 602 00:30:05,020 --> 00:30:07,349 Truman is up for reelection , his only 603 00:30:07,359 --> 00:30:10,000 reelection to office . Uh And he is 604 00:30:10,010 --> 00:30:12,121 right on a knife's edge of , of being 605 00:30:12,121 --> 00:30:14,288 reelected uh as the president . And so 606 00:30:14,288 --> 00:30:16,288 he's under immense pressure to make 607 00:30:16,288 --> 00:30:18,689 decisions to keep a political coalition 608 00:30:18,989 --> 00:30:22,000 together . Uh And so there's a lot of 609 00:30:22,010 --> 00:30:24,229 poli politics behind this . But the 610 00:30:24,239 --> 00:30:28,060 real incident that sparked this change 611 00:30:28,069 --> 00:30:30,125 of heart in Harry Truman who was the 612 00:30:30,125 --> 00:30:32,236 son and grandson of slaveholders , uh 613 00:30:32,236 --> 00:30:35,359 came from Missouri , a slave state . Uh 614 00:30:35,479 --> 00:30:37,989 The , the true incident that , that 615 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,560 changed his mind and his heart uh was 616 00:30:40,569 --> 00:30:42,859 the wounding of or and the uh and the 617 00:30:42,869 --> 00:30:44,813 blinding of an army sergeant Isaac 618 00:30:44,819 --> 00:30:47,260 Woodard who had returned from service 619 00:30:47,270 --> 00:30:49,810 in the Pacific uh was going home after 620 00:30:49,819 --> 00:30:53,339 being demobilized uh in his uniform on 621 00:30:53,349 --> 00:30:55,238 a bus home to South Carolina from 622 00:30:55,238 --> 00:30:58,280 Georgia . Uh when he asks to uh to 623 00:30:58,290 --> 00:31:00,512 leave the bus uh to use the bathroom at 624 00:31:00,512 --> 00:31:02,930 a stop . Uh The bus driver pulled him 625 00:31:02,939 --> 00:31:04,939 off , the bus attempted to have him 626 00:31:04,939 --> 00:31:06,995 arrested when the chief of police in 627 00:31:06,995 --> 00:31:09,270 the town beat him so severely that he 628 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:12,319 was blinded . Uh This became national 629 00:31:12,329 --> 00:31:14,989 news and it became national outrage . 630 00:31:15,140 --> 00:31:17,560 And when Truman , uh when the president 631 00:31:17,569 --> 00:31:19,750 saw this and he saw the photographs of 632 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:21,869 the blinded sergeant Woodard , uh he 633 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:23,658 became enraged and he said this 634 00:31:24,020 --> 00:31:26,949 something has to stop . And he became 635 00:31:26,959 --> 00:31:30,579 committed to this effort to uh to issue 636 00:31:30,589 --> 00:31:32,645 an executive order to take executive 637 00:31:32,645 --> 00:31:34,660 action because he knew that uh that 638 00:31:34,670 --> 00:31:37,189 Congress would not . Uh And so he was 639 00:31:37,199 --> 00:31:39,520 responding to events , he was 640 00:31:39,530 --> 00:31:41,697 responding to political pressure , but 641 00:31:41,697 --> 00:31:43,474 he was also responding to moral 642 00:31:43,474 --> 00:31:46,099 pressure to uh to take the right step . 643 00:31:46,439 --> 00:31:49,410 Uh And so , uh that uh that , that 644 00:31:49,420 --> 00:31:52,380 context behind it uh contains equal 645 00:31:52,390 --> 00:31:55,989 parts moral inspiration uh and , and 646 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,520 political calculation , but it does 647 00:31:58,530 --> 00:32:00,586 tell us that uh that there's never a 648 00:32:00,586 --> 00:32:02,697 wrong time to do the right thing . Uh 649 00:32:02,697 --> 00:32:05,420 And so , uh but that , that in that 650 00:32:05,430 --> 00:32:08,369 executive order was , was merely uh the 651 00:32:08,380 --> 00:32:10,869 initial policy step that leads us 652 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:12,991 toward integration and , and in terms 653 00:32:12,991 --> 00:32:15,530 of the US army's history , uh what 654 00:32:15,540 --> 00:32:17,739 really kicks us over the top . Of 655 00:32:17,750 --> 00:32:19,694 course , again , is combat and the 656 00:32:19,694 --> 00:32:22,390 Korean War and the need to uh to fully 657 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,560 utilize all our resources to uh to take 658 00:32:25,569 --> 00:32:28,390 that step . Uh And to create an army 659 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:30,733 that lives up to our ideals as a nation . 660 00:32:31,599 --> 00:32:33,430 Uh It's time for a couple more 661 00:32:33,439 --> 00:32:35,439 questions here , gentlemen . Uh And 662 00:32:35,439 --> 00:32:37,661 then I'll give you the opportunity . If 663 00:32:37,661 --> 00:32:39,717 you have any , any final thoughts or 664 00:32:39,717 --> 00:32:41,883 messages you'd like to pass along . Uh 665 00:32:41,883 --> 00:32:43,939 Mr Freeman as , as people watch this 666 00:32:43,939 --> 00:32:46,106 documentary , what is it that you hope 667 00:32:46,106 --> 00:32:48,469 they take away most from this ? 668 00:32:53,979 --> 00:32:57,400 It's um a real realization 669 00:32:57,540 --> 00:33:01,219 that's embedded here that 670 00:33:01,630 --> 00:33:05,239 uh we didn't just start , 671 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,729 we've been doing this all along . 672 00:33:10,130 --> 00:33:13,849 Uh Lack of recognition does not 673 00:33:14,099 --> 00:33:17,569 do anything to deny the 674 00:33:17,579 --> 00:33:20,290 history . The history is there . 675 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:25,239 So , uh the 676 00:33:25,250 --> 00:33:28,199 pride of being American 677 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:30,650 grip us all . 678 00:33:34,979 --> 00:33:37,729 And then my final question , um , I'll , 679 00:33:37,739 --> 00:33:39,795 I'll start with you Mr Freeman . But 680 00:33:39,795 --> 00:33:41,961 certainly any of you feel free to jump 681 00:33:41,961 --> 00:33:44,510 in as you learned about the 7 61st . Uh , 682 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:46,576 and the , the men who served in that 683 00:33:46,576 --> 00:33:49,310 unit in your , in your mind , who were , 684 00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:51,430 who were the champions here ? Who are 685 00:33:51,430 --> 00:33:53,652 the folks , uh , that really drove that 686 00:33:53,652 --> 00:33:55,390 unit forward and enabled it to 687 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,300 accomplish . George was one , he 688 00:33:59,310 --> 00:34:03,209 was the , any Children in here they're 689 00:34:03,219 --> 00:34:05,020 watching on TV , sir . Oh , 690 00:34:07,969 --> 00:34:11,590 Warren was , his name was Warren G . 691 00:34:14,989 --> 00:34:18,419 Uh , he had a reputation for 692 00:34:19,500 --> 00:34:22,399 being a terror . I mean , an absolute 693 00:34:22,830 --> 00:34:25,719 terror . His story is the one that I'm 694 00:34:25,729 --> 00:34:29,600 looking to tell in a movie like it . We 695 00:34:29,610 --> 00:34:31,800 do a series . I want to do a series 696 00:34:31,810 --> 00:34:34,780 like Band of Brothers about the 76 the 697 00:34:34,790 --> 00:34:37,520 first and they're exploits and this 698 00:34:37,530 --> 00:34:38,863 guy's gonna stand out . 699 00:34:42,340 --> 00:34:44,618 Yeah . I mean , the baddest of the bad . 700 00:34:45,138 --> 00:34:49,030 Yeah . Worse than meaner 701 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:50,419 than a junk yard . No . 702 00:34:53,510 --> 00:34:57,179 He witnessed his friend , um , being 703 00:34:57,189 --> 00:35:00,100 killed in battle and it just turned 704 00:35:00,110 --> 00:35:02,570 something in him . Apparently . I think 705 00:35:02,580 --> 00:35:04,413 one of our historians call him a 706 00:35:04,413 --> 00:35:06,699 homicidal Avenger . He just got his 707 00:35:06,709 --> 00:35:10,469 kicks out of killing Nazis . Sounds 708 00:35:10,479 --> 00:35:14,290 like something so far . Be it for 709 00:35:14,300 --> 00:35:17,790 me to , to , to really , to , I , 710 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,209 I'm certainly not a deep expert on the 711 00:35:20,219 --> 00:35:22,275 battalion and its , and its soldiers 712 00:35:22,275 --> 00:35:24,389 and you all are . Uh , I just want to 713 00:35:24,399 --> 00:35:26,510 mention another interesting member of 714 00:35:26,510 --> 00:35:29,320 the 7 61st Lieutenant Jackie Robinson . 715 00:35:30,090 --> 00:35:32,620 So Jackie Robinson had uh had gone to 716 00:35:32,629 --> 00:35:34,185 officer candidate school uh 717 00:35:34,185 --> 00:35:35,989 commissioned after his white 718 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,030 counterparts , of course , uh as an 719 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:40,580 army officer and was assigned to camp 720 00:35:40,590 --> 00:35:43,810 hood to the 7 61st when he had his 721 00:35:43,820 --> 00:35:46,110 moment , uh and he didn't make it to 722 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,669 combat . Uh because of that moment , he 723 00:35:48,679 --> 00:35:50,899 was riding on a bus after a medical 724 00:35:50,909 --> 00:35:53,076 appointment was ordered to move to the 725 00:35:53,076 --> 00:35:55,479 back of the bus uh and refused . Uh And 726 00:35:55,489 --> 00:35:57,489 so , uh he was moved to a different 727 00:35:57,489 --> 00:35:59,433 unit , uh court martialed , he was 728 00:35:59,433 --> 00:36:01,379 acquitted by an all white jury of 729 00:36:01,389 --> 00:36:04,620 officers . Uh and uh and remained in 730 00:36:04,629 --> 00:36:06,740 the army but didn't deploy overseas . 731 00:36:06,820 --> 00:36:08,987 Uh But as we talked about and sir , as 732 00:36:08,987 --> 00:36:10,987 you talk about in the documentary , 733 00:36:10,987 --> 00:36:12,598 these men took their wartime 734 00:36:12,598 --> 00:36:14,653 experiences with them into the civil 735 00:36:14,653 --> 00:36:16,542 rights movement . Uh And , and of 736 00:36:16,542 --> 00:36:18,653 course , we know Jackie Robinson as a 737 00:36:18,653 --> 00:36:20,598 path breaker uh on the on the ball 738 00:36:20,598 --> 00:36:22,598 field . But uh but he was formed by 739 00:36:22,598 --> 00:36:24,653 that experience . And so I would , I 740 00:36:24,653 --> 00:36:26,820 would consider him as a member of that 741 00:36:26,820 --> 00:36:28,931 battalion too . And as a very bad man 742 00:36:29,510 --> 00:36:32,780 that I , I would go so far as to uh 743 00:36:32,790 --> 00:36:35,429 point out , um , their colonel white , 744 00:36:35,439 --> 00:36:38,100 Colonel Paul Bates , who actually 745 00:36:38,110 --> 00:36:40,699 refused to Court Marshall Jackie , 746 00:36:40,709 --> 00:36:43,090 which compelled him to transfer him out 747 00:36:43,100 --> 00:36:45,520 of that unit into another one . but 748 00:36:45,530 --> 00:36:47,280 Paul Bates , like in any other 749 00:36:47,290 --> 00:36:50,300 situation , um was a true ally to these 750 00:36:50,310 --> 00:36:52,421 men treated them like men , gave them 751 00:36:52,421 --> 00:36:54,199 the courage and honor that they 752 00:36:54,199 --> 00:36:56,421 deserved . And they fought valiantly in 753 00:36:56,421 --> 00:36:58,588 large part because of his leadership . 754 00:36:58,588 --> 00:37:00,820 Um And in , in spite of it , because he 755 00:37:00,830 --> 00:37:03,120 was wounded early on and removed from 756 00:37:03,129 --> 00:37:05,351 the theater of war for a time and , and 757 00:37:05,351 --> 00:37:07,518 these men went on fighting . And uh so 758 00:37:07,518 --> 00:37:09,740 I , I would acknowledge uh Colonel Paul 759 00:37:09,740 --> 00:37:11,962 Bates and , and not just because he's a 760 00:37:11,962 --> 00:37:14,030 Rutgers man like me . But uh he , he 761 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,530 was quite , quite valiant . Just the 762 00:37:17,540 --> 00:37:19,762 last thing I would say is that also , I 763 00:37:19,762 --> 00:37:21,707 think it's worth acknowledging the 764 00:37:21,707 --> 00:37:24,020 incredible uh the fact that the 7 61st 765 00:37:24,030 --> 00:37:27,500 carried on fighting for 40 decade . No , 766 00:37:27,510 --> 00:37:30,520 but for 44 decades after the war that 767 00:37:30,530 --> 00:37:32,820 the community that they , they came 768 00:37:32,830 --> 00:37:34,774 back , they formed this incredibly 769 00:37:34,774 --> 00:37:36,997 tight community , they fought for their 770 00:37:36,997 --> 00:37:39,052 own recognition . Many of them , you 771 00:37:39,052 --> 00:37:41,163 know , actively for decades and their 772 00:37:41,163 --> 00:37:43,909 Children , offspring now are still part 773 00:37:43,919 --> 00:37:45,919 of that family . So they are bonded 774 00:37:45,919 --> 00:37:48,086 together by their experience for those 775 00:37:48,086 --> 00:37:50,600 183 days in battle , made a family that 776 00:37:50,649 --> 00:37:52,850 still endures to this day . 777 00:37:55,500 --> 00:37:58,040 Make a comment I'm doing in the course 778 00:37:58,050 --> 00:38:00,106 of doing some research for a project 779 00:38:00,106 --> 00:38:02,272 that I'm doing a doctor dissertation . 780 00:38:02,272 --> 00:38:04,217 I'm writing . I encountered uh the 781 00:38:04,217 --> 00:38:04,149 records and the personal effects of 782 00:38:04,159 --> 00:38:06,215 Clifford Alexander who was the , the 783 00:38:06,215 --> 00:38:08,510 first black secretary of the Army . Uh 784 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:10,919 And I got a chance to meet his uh his 785 00:38:10,929 --> 00:38:13,290 widow Adele and she showed me his 786 00:38:13,300 --> 00:38:15,467 series of photo albums from his tenure 787 00:38:15,467 --> 00:38:17,578 as Secretary of the Army . And one of 788 00:38:17,578 --> 00:38:19,689 the photographs in that album was the 789 00:38:19,689 --> 00:38:21,689 ceremony in which uh the 7 61st was 790 00:38:21,689 --> 00:38:23,911 awarded the President's unit citation . 791 00:38:23,911 --> 00:38:26,022 And he presided at that ceremony . Uh 792 00:38:26,022 --> 00:38:28,244 And that , that photo is gonna go in my 793 00:38:28,244 --> 00:38:30,610 dissertation because it speaks to what 794 00:38:30,620 --> 00:38:32,676 Secretary Austin spoke to , which is 795 00:38:32,676 --> 00:38:34,509 the , the process in the army of 796 00:38:34,509 --> 00:38:36,787 raising people to leadership positions . 797 00:38:36,787 --> 00:38:38,953 And when people in the force see their 798 00:38:38,953 --> 00:38:40,953 leaders who look like them and have 799 00:38:40,953 --> 00:38:43,120 their , the same experiences as them , 800 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,287 they're inspired to serve . Uh And you 801 00:38:45,287 --> 00:38:47,453 can't discount the , the impact of one 802 00:38:47,459 --> 00:38:49,469 person's actions . And Secretary 803 00:38:49,479 --> 00:38:51,719 Alexander was raised to that position 804 00:38:51,959 --> 00:38:54,250 by the executive order by this process 805 00:38:54,260 --> 00:38:57,830 of inclusion and he paid it back and he 806 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,350 uh and he was in a position to uh to 807 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:02,679 recognize that these men for their 808 00:39:02,689 --> 00:39:04,860 service and sacrifice . Well , thank 809 00:39:04,870 --> 00:39:07,129 you all . Um I am cognizant of , of 810 00:39:07,139 --> 00:39:09,250 your time today . Um And I do want to 811 00:39:09,250 --> 00:39:11,510 give Mr Freeman the last word . So , uh 812 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:13,770 let me just start with Mr Bory and 813 00:39:13,780 --> 00:39:15,947 we'll , we'll just go around the , the 814 00:39:15,947 --> 00:39:18,002 uh the room here if , if you had any 815 00:39:18,002 --> 00:39:20,169 last messages or , or thoughts for the 816 00:39:20,169 --> 00:39:22,280 audience today . So , we've got a lot 817 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:24,224 more material at my organization's 818 00:39:24,224 --> 00:39:26,280 website , history dot army dot mil . 819 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:25,760 And you can explore all of this in 820 00:39:25,770 --> 00:39:28,090 great depth in detail , but uh it's my 821 00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:30,378 honor to be with you today . Thank you . 822 00:39:30,679 --> 00:39:33,500 I would tell you if you could find this 823 00:39:33,510 --> 00:39:36,179 documentary on the History Channel uh 824 00:39:36,189 --> 00:39:39,810 on August 20th at 8 p.m. So please tell 825 00:39:39,820 --> 00:39:41,820 your friends and family and I would 826 00:39:41,860 --> 00:39:44,610 deeply like to acknowledge um just 827 00:39:44,620 --> 00:39:47,479 gratitude and , and respect for uh the 828 00:39:47,489 --> 00:39:50,360 History Channel family . Eli Lara and 829 00:39:50,449 --> 00:39:52,850 Jen Wagman who are here um gave 830 00:39:52,860 --> 00:39:55,280 everything to this project . Um They 831 00:39:55,290 --> 00:39:57,959 were equally storytellers as we were . 832 00:39:57,969 --> 00:40:00,030 So I just wanna share a debt of 833 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:02,318 gratitude with the History Channel for , 834 00:40:02,318 --> 00:40:05,989 for taking on this endeavor . Thank you , 835 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,056 Phil . I just said the same thing to 836 00:40:08,056 --> 00:40:10,111 History Channel to , to Phil . Thank 837 00:40:10,111 --> 00:40:12,278 you , Phil for coming aboard and , and 838 00:40:12,278 --> 00:40:14,389 really making this project a personal 839 00:40:14,389 --> 00:40:16,611 passion of yours and digging up all the 840 00:40:16,611 --> 00:40:18,949 information you did about the 7 61st 841 00:40:18,959 --> 00:40:22,780 and about Morgan's family . Um Long 842 00:40:22,790 --> 00:40:26,290 buried information . Um So , yeah , um 843 00:40:26,300 --> 00:40:28,411 I just wanna say again , thank you to 844 00:40:28,411 --> 00:40:32,330 Morgan for agreeing to uh put yourself 845 00:40:32,340 --> 00:40:34,562 in this film . I know you don't like to 846 00:40:34,562 --> 00:40:36,562 always be uh on camera , although I 847 00:40:36,562 --> 00:40:38,784 think you've been in a couple of things 848 00:40:38,784 --> 00:40:41,610 before . So , yeah . Uh 849 00:40:41,620 --> 00:40:45,449 my basic concept of myself is 850 00:40:45,459 --> 00:40:48,000 that I am an itinerant actor , 851 00:40:49,780 --> 00:40:53,379 not much more than that . So 852 00:40:53,739 --> 00:40:56,739 to be in this position 853 00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:01,300 is uh a little mind boggling . 854 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,278 You know , I always want to say , look , 855 00:41:05,219 --> 00:41:07,770 you know , um 856 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,889 it's an honor . Uh I 857 00:41:12,899 --> 00:41:15,360 never expressed any pride of being in 858 00:41:15,370 --> 00:41:18,330 uniform because he didn't do anything 859 00:41:19,429 --> 00:41:23,239 but I did wear it . So . 860 00:41:25,060 --> 00:41:26,060 Ok . 861 00:41:33,770 --> 00:41:36,919 Well , gentlemen , um , the honor is 862 00:41:36,929 --> 00:41:39,719 indeed ours . Uh Mr Freeman , thank you 863 00:41:39,729 --> 00:41:42,159 so much uh , to all of you on behalf of 864 00:41:42,169 --> 00:41:44,336 Secretary Austin and the men and women 865 00:41:44,336 --> 00:41:46,558 of the Department of Defense . Uh We're 866 00:41:46,558 --> 00:41:48,780 very grateful for you sharing your time 867 00:41:48,780 --> 00:41:50,989 and your gifts with us today . Uh And 868 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,090 for helping to tell this really 869 00:41:53,100 --> 00:41:55,340 important story about the 7 61st tank 870 00:41:55,350 --> 00:41:57,350 battalion . Thank you all for being 871 00:41:57,350 --> 00:41:58,406 here . Thank you . 872 00:42:05,350 --> 00:42:07,572 Thank you , ladies and gentlemen , that 873 00:42:07,572 --> 00:42:09,072 concludes our engagement . 874 00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:12,909 We go .