[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1372-S1373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SERVICE MEMBERS

 Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to 
recognize a courageous group of 1.25 million veterans whose 
contributions in our victory in the Second World War have gone for too 
long largely unnoticed. The military policy at that time, of 
segregation and exclusion from combat roles, would make one believe 
that there were no African-American combatants in the war against Nazi 
Germany.
  In late 1944, German forces mounted what would be their final 
offensive in the Belgian Ardennes. This maneuver, later to gain infamy 
as the ``Battle of the Bulge,'' pressed into service 2,500 black troops 
as separate platoons in white companies. Black units, like the 333d 
Field Artillery Battalion, would also participate as combatants.
  These brave young men performed superbly. They were part of the 
valiant effort to hold off the Germans until help, in the form of 
General Patton's 3d Army, could defeat the last gasp of the Third 
Reich.
  As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I feel it 
is so appropriate that we recognize those soldiers who served their 
Nation so proudly overseas--despite the second-class treatment they 
then received here. Specifically I would like to single out a group of 
11 soldiers from the 333d Field Artillery Battalion who made the 
ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our Nation.
  It is common knowledge that the battle in Bastogne saw the massacre 
of American POW's by German troops. The tragedy of Malmedy immediately 
comes to many minds. The event was well documented and the town's 
inhabitants erected a monument in honor of the troops who were trying 
to deliver their town to freedom.
  A similar horrible event occurred only 14km away in Wereth. Here the 
11 black soldiers who were executed and tortured there, go almost 
wholly unmentioned in most texts about the fight for Bastogne. Their 
unit had become bogged down in the mire and mud and had suffered 
casualties from both artillery and Luftwaffe attacks. Much of the unit 
was captured. These 11 men escaped on foot, armed with only 2 rifles. 
In the town of Wereth they found refuge with a Belgian family, but were 
later captured by German troops. Because they refused to tell the 
Germans the identities of Allied sympathizers, they suffered a similar 
fate as their comrades in Malmedy. The Panzer troops first humiliated, 
then beat, and finally executed the 11 black soldiers.
  War crimes investigators had no witnesses to the massacre and the 
inquiry was ended. The incident was nearly forgotten after the war.
  After many years the town of Wereth dedicated a permanent monument to 
the men who lost their lives to free Belgium and defend liberty.
  It is long past time that America too learn of and appreciate the 
sacrifice of these soldiers. During this Black History Month let us 
commemorate the supreme effort and sacrifice of the men of the 333d 
Field Artillery Battalion and all patriotic black veterans who 

[[Page S1373]]
have answered the call to defend this great Nation of ours. Many faced 
cruel prejudice at home and in the military, yet they went on to truly 
distinguish themselves when their country needed them most. May they 
rest in peace. Thank God for them.

                          ____________________