| Although approximately 800,000 of the American forces in World War II were African American, 90 percent of them were found in service rather than in combat units. Historians have neglected their contribution to the war effort. African Americans played a major role in building the Ledo Road through Burma, which by maintaining a supply flow to China played a key role in U.S.-Chinese relations. The unusual military and physical conditions in Burma broke down the racial discriminations that blacks endured in other theaters, giving the Ledo Road story additional significance.;Research for this thesis was conducted primarily at the US Army Military History Institute; the National Archives; the Office of History, US Army Corps of Engineers; and China-Burma-India Veterans' conventions. |
