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Walter Morris, First Jump with the 1st Sgt. 555th Parachute Battalion and Color Portrait

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion
  • Location of Service: Fort Benning, Georgia; Camp Mackall, North Carolina; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Pendleton Field, Oregon
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/2946

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"We as colored soldiers in Ft. Benning could not go into the main Post Exchange. We looked in [and] could see the German and Italian prisoners of war sitting down at the same table with white soldiers... So it is understandable how colored soldiers would have an inferiority complex." Audio interview transcript, page 5, 23:15

Walter Morris played an important role in integrating American troops in World War II. Morris submitted ideas on how to run an all-black guard unit attached to the parachute school and soon he and his men were learning to make jumps. Dubbed the 555th Parachute Infantry Company - "The Triple Nickles" - Morris and his men were disappointed when VE Day cut off their chance to fight in Europe. Like many other servicemen, they expected to participate in the upcoming invasion of Japan, but the Army-and the Department of Agriculture-had something else in mind.

Walter Morris Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Walter Morris Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Walter Morris Collection

Names

  • Kent, Judith J.
  • Flagler County Public Library
  • Morris, Walter

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • Florida

Headings

  • -  Morris, Walter
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion
    • Location of Service: Fort Benning, Georgia; Camp Mackall, North Carolina; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Pendleton Field, Oregon
    • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1946
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was the first African American assigned to the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the first all-African American parachute infantry test unit).

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2002)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 2002; 2003-01-02)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-11-21)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [3 items] -- Photographs (collected 1944-2002)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2007-11-07; 2007-11-07)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2946

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Kent, Judith J, Flagler County Public Library, and Walter Morris. Walter Morris Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02946/.

APA citation style:

Kent, J. J., Flagler County Public Library & Morris, W. (1941) Walter Morris Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02946/.

MLA citation style:

Kent, Judith J, Flagler County Public Library, and Walter Morris. Walter Morris Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02946/>.