Additional information
by Morrow (Author)
On March 27, 1950, the author turned 17; ten days later he enlisted in the U.S. Army. During his training in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he first learned of the "police action" in Korea, and like many others he volunteered for duty there. His biggest fear was that the action would be over by the time he arrived in Korea. Private Morrow was assigned as a rifleman in the 24th Infantry Regiment Combat Team, one of the most outstanding units in Korea and the last all black army unit; he served with distinction until he was wounded. After a short stint in Pusan, he became a paratrooper and rigger in the 8081st Airborne and Resupplying Company stationed in southern Japan. Throughout his time in the service, Private Morrow had to face the institutional racism of the U.S. Army where black soldiers consistently served longer and performed more dangerous duties than white soldiers. The effects of this on the 18-year-old private were longterm--and are described here.
Back Jacket
At 17, Curtis "Kojo" Morrow enlisted in the United States Army and joined the 24th Infantry Regiment Combat Team, originally known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Seven months later he found himself fighting a bloody war in a place he had never heard of: Korea. During nine months of fierce combat, Morrow developed not only a soldier's mentality but a political consciousness as well. Hearing older men discussing racial discrimination in both civilian and military life, he began to question the role of his all-black unit in the Korean action. Supposedly they were protecting freedom, justice, and the American way of life, but what was that way of life for blacks in the United States? Where was the freedom? Why were the Buffalo Soldiers laying their lives on the line for a country in which African-American citizens were sometimes denied even the right to vote? Morrow's story of his service in the United States Army is a revealing portrait of life in the army's last all-black unit, a factual summary of that unit's actions in a bloody "police action", and a personal memoir of a boy becoming a man in a time of war.
Author Biography
A goldsmith and jewelry maker, Curtis "Kojo" Morrow has been very active in African American affairs in Chicago. His writings have appeared in such publications as the Chicago Defender and Afrique.
