On July 29th, KOMO TV announced that the US Army had issued a formal apology to 28 black soldiers who were court martialed at Fort Lawton after a riot on August 14, 1944, due to resentment of favorable treatment to Italian pows. The black soldiers felt that they were not treated as well as the prisoners. One Italian pow was killed in the melee.
The apology took place at Seattle's Discovery Park which was the site of Fort Lawton. A total of 43 black soldiers were court-martialed and 28 found guilty and sentenced to as many as 25 years in prison. Three were convicted of manslaughter.
A recent probe, sparked by the publication of a book on the incident found them not guilty. However, only two of the 28 are still alive and family members of the others accepted the apology.
It would seem to be very wrong that Italian prisoners, because they were white, would receive better treatment than black US soldiers, but those were the times. Glad things have improved.
It Was ABOUT Time. --Cooter
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