BBC Radio 4 LW

Fighting Together in Korea

Documentaries

Factual: Politics

BBC Radio 4 - Fighting Together in Korea

How the Korean War forced the US military to desegregate.

"There are no bigots in foxholes" - how the Korean War forced black and white soldiers to fight together.

70 years ago tens of thousands of North Korean troops invaded South Korea. Over the next three years one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th Century claimed millions of lives.

On a more positive note, though, the Korean War helped precipitate social change in the United States. Following President Truman’s Executive Order 9981, the Korean conflict became the first in which US armed forces were desegregated.

It was not a smooth process but it did precede civil rights advances back home where segregation was still widespread, especially in the southern states.
This is the story of why President Truman, who had himself expressed clear racist views earlier in his career, took the decision to issue his executive order to desegregate the armed forces, and how the US armed forces reacted. It is also the story of how African American military personnel were treated as they fought for their country.

Presenter: Brian Palmer (former CNN correspondent, and winner of a Peabody Award in 2018)
Producer: John Murphy

With thanks to;

US Army Center of Military History
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum
Library of Congress, Veterans History Project
Korean War Legacy Foundation
Robert Hodierne, Richmond University
Stephen Smith (formerly American Public Media)
Pritzker Military Museum and Library
Enoch Pratt Free Library

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Fighting Together in Korea

Genres

Formats

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4