During the night of August 14, 1944, an Italian prisoner of war was lynched on the Fort Lawton army base in Seattle--a murder that shocked the nation and the international community. It was a time of deep segregation in the army, and the War Department was quick to charge three African American soldiers with first-degree murder, although there was no evidence linking them to the crime. Forty other black soldiers faced lesser charges over the incident, launching one of the largest and longest army trials of World War II.
In this harrowing story of race, privilege, and power, Jack Hamann explores the most overlooked civil rights event in American history. On American Soil raises important questions about how justice is carried out when a country is at war, offering vital lessons on the tensions between national security and individual rights.
A V Ethel Willis White Book
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 384 pages
ISBN-10: 0295987057
Item Weight: 1.1 lbs
Dimensions: 6.0 x 1.45 x 9.0 inches
"This is an excellent book and it is highly recommended. It is meticulously researched, well presented, and beautifully written. And given the details and complexities of the events surrounding the riot and court martial, the story is easy to follow. Hamann provides short, but colorful narrative descriptions of many of the key protagonists. . . . Historians should take note."
-Journal of African American History
Jack Hamann has been a news reporter, network correspondent, and documentary producer for more than two decades and has served most recently as Seattle bureau chief for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He has won ten Emmy Awards for his work. On American Soil won the 2005 Investigative Reporters and Editors Book Award; previous winners include Bob Woodward, Seymour Hersh, and Neil Sheehan, among others.
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