Many black soldiers serving in the U.S. Army during World War II hoped that they might make permanent gains as a result of their military service and their willingness to defend their country. They were soon disabused of such illusions. Taps for a Jim Crow Army is a powerful collection of letters written by black soldiers in the 1940s to various government and nongovernment officials. The soldiers expressed their disillusionment, rage, and anguish over the discrimination and segregation they experienced in the Army. Most black troops were denied entry into army specialist schools;...

McGuire's study fills a major gap in social histories of the Second World War by placing Hastie's role in proper historical perspective. He demonstrates that, although he is largely ignored in the published literature, Hastie did more to effect changes in the placement, training, and promotion of black soldiers than any other single individual in the history of the American armed forces prior to World War II. Throughout, McGuire makes liberal use of primary source materials and comments from soldiers and other key figures to reinforce his argument.