President Joe Biden is commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day in France this week, along with other world leaders. I was born two years after the end of World War IIbut my interest in the war took a different tack from the history we were taught in school, and from most of the war movies I saw growing up. My dad served with the African American Tuskegee Airmen. Their WWII contributions and racial travails were largely ignored until the release of George Lucas’ 2012 film “Red Tails.”
I’ve also written about the Puerto Rican “Borikeneers” and their war efforts. They finally received official acknowledgement of their service, receiving a congressional gold medal from President Obama in 2014.
When reading about upcoming D-Day ceremonies, I saw no mention of the role played by people of the Caribbean—not just on D-Day but in the overall war effort. I realized that I didn’t know much, if anything, about the “front” that wasn’t in Normandy, but in nearby Caribbean waters.
Join me below to explore this history.
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U.S. Naval Reserve Commander C. Alphonso Smith documented the Battle of the Caribbean for the U.S. Naval Institute:
The Battle of the Caribbean lasted nine and a half months—from February 16, 1942, to November 30, 1942. In that comparatively brief time, German submarines torpedoed 263 ships in the Caribbean and its approaches, with a gross tonnage of 1,362,278.
It is a little known, or at least neglected, fact that the sinkings in the Caribbean during this period were greater than the losses incurred on the North Atlantic Convoy Routes, the Eastern Sea Frontier, and the Canadian Coastal Zone, all three combined.
This tremendously damaging blow coming as it did when the nation was struggling to get its teeth into the world conflict was achieved by the Germans with the loss of only four submarines from which there were 77 survivors. To say that it was a cheap price to pay is a classic of understatement.
British YouTuber Drachinifel tells the story in this 33-minute video, writing, “Today we take a brief look at the short but vicious campaign in the Caribbean to secure, or destroy, Allied trade.”
The History Hustle Channel focuses on the specific segment of the Caribbean war targeting the Dutch Antilles in this 11-minute mini-documentary:
TheHistory Hustle video notes:
The Dutch Antilles, which were a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea that were part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, played a role during World War II, primarily due to their strategic location and the importance of their oil refineries. The Dutch Antilles, particularly the islands of Aruba and Curaçao, had significant oil refineries. These refineries were important for the Allies because they could provide refined oil products for their war effort. Control over these refineries was crucial, as they could affect the supply of oil to both military and civilian sectors. At the beginning of World War II, the Netherlands declared themselves neutral, just like they had during World War I. However, this neutrality was challenged when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. The Dutch Antilles were still under Dutch control, and their strategic significance made them potential targets for both Axis and Allied forces.
After the fall of the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles came under the control of the Dutch government-in-exile, which had fled to London. This government maintained control over the islands and their resources, including the oil refineries. The Allies, particularly the United States, saw the importance of these refineries and established a presence on the islands to safeguard them. The United States established military bases and installations on Aruba and Curaçao to protect the oil refineries and ensure they remained operational. These bases included airfields and naval facilities. The islands' location in the Caribbean also allowed for increased patrols and anti-submarine operations in the region. The Caribbean Sea was a key area for submarine warfare during World War II. German U-boats targeted Allied shipping lanes, attempting to disrupt the flow of supplies to Europe. The Dutch Antilles' proximity to these shipping lanes meant that they were at risk of U-boat attacks. The Allies established a naval presence to counter this threat and protect their interests. The oil refineries on Aruba and Curaçao played a significant role in supplying the Allies with refined oil products. These products were essential for powering vehicles, aircraft, and machinery crucial to the war effort. The Dutch Antilles thus indirectly contributed to the success of the Allies. Learn about the Dutch Antilles during World War II.
Puerto Rico was a key line of defense, as documented in this 30-minute film produced by University of Puerto Rico professor Dr. Gerardo M. Piñero Cádiz.
From thevideo notes:
Audio visual production from the Centro de Diseño y Producción de Recursos Instruccionales (CEDPRI) de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Humacao. The half-hour documentary film was made by Dr. Gerardo M. Piñero Cádiz in 2013 and tells the story of preparing the island of Puerto Rico for the coming of war. All kind of media allow the spectator to understand, examine and protect the surviving elements of these awesome defenses. The film aims to rescue from oblivion the defensive sites built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the island of Puerto Rico during the 1940s, and their relation to other military installations. We will also highlight their importance during the war emergency and briefly explain their operations.
Just months into World War II, the United States would grant Puerto Rico the same strategic importance that the Spanish Empire had given it in the past. The “Gibraltar of the Caribbean” had just become one of the most important parts of American defense system in the West Indies. Air bases, naval and ground systems, communications, roads, and all kinds of military installations transformed Puerto Rico into one of the most important strategic points in the Atlantic for the successful defense of commercial maritime routes, the Allied supply lines, troop movements, Caribbean oil transit, and the Panama Canal itself.
To protect the military facilities, already built or under construction, from ground, aerial or naval attack, or sabotage, it was agreed to start the deployment of defenses, such as thecoastal artillery. Aside from protection, these defenses would lend support to ships while approaching, in transit, or sailing away from Puerto Rico.
Let’s take a look at the Caribbean people engaged in the war effort, both as troops and as support.
This 11-minute video produced by The Front, titled “For a Small Country Puerto Rico Packed a lot of Punch in World War 2,” details Puerto Ricans’ service in the war on multiple fronts.
This short two-and-a-half-minute piece on the Puerto Rican women who served reveals that they were separated by skin color after they enlisted.
The Royal Air Force Museum documents the number of British Caribbean people who joined the war effort.
With the outbreak of war with Nazi Germany, Britain needed manpower and in October 1939 the ‘colour bar’ was again lifted. The RAF began recruiting for aircrew in the Black colonies in November 1940, but despite the formal end of discrimination Black people still found it difficult to enlist. Some therefore travelled at their own expense to join the RAF in Britain while others joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
In 1939, the population of the Caribbean stood at less than three million people. From this, some 6,000 Black Caribbean men volunteered for the RAF, 5,500 as ground staff and some 450 as aircrew. Another 80 women joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). The largest Caribbean contingent came from Jamaica, and in February 1945 there were over 3,700 Jamaicans in air force blue.
The YouTube description of the video says, “Historian Mark Johnson tells the story of the RAF’s Black volunteers, focusing on the contribution of his great-uncle, John Blair, who won the DFC as a navigator in Bomber Command.”
Johnson’s book, “Caribbean Volunteers at War: The Forgotten Story of the RAF's 'Tuskegee Airmen,” was published in 2021.
Caribbean Volunteers at War: The Forgotten Story of the RAF's 'Tuskegee Airmen' HWVEJMChttps://t.co/B73Q1Y37ci pic.twitter.com/Yul1yWrplR
— Annetta_Cremin60 (@ACremin60) January 2, 2023
Historian and author Mark Barnes reviewed the book for “War History Online.”
We have here an entertaining and rewarding book that advances the story of the men who left Britain’s colonies in the Caribbean to serve in the Royal Air Force during World War Two. This is one of those neglected facets of history which often places the men as one dimensional footnotes in bigger stories and it is high time we had more books like this one plugging the knowledge gap and setting a few things straight.
Of course, a book like this cannot ignore the paradox that so many men volunteered to fight for freedom in the war while not actually enjoying the benefits of it as colonial subjects of Britain’s empire. It also has to take on the realities of racism, subtle or overt, that clearly existed in those days and, if we are honest, have far from vanished today. I find it very hard getting my head round what would motivate a young man to leave home to fight in a war that we could say is not his. Thankfully the author quotes examples of men who did just that and we learn that they were inspired to fight against Nazi Germany because they could differentiate between the evil of the Third Reich on the one hand and the generally benign nature of British rule on the other. I will not stand here and defend colonialism, we live with the negative impacts of it’s legacy every day in some form or another. Almost all the former British territories in the Caribbean are fully independent states today and it is fascinating to know how the war fits in with their outlook on colonial times
Racism is a tougher one to handle, because the author wants to tell you about the men who served, and not enter into a long missive about the horrible nature of it. He treads a careful path and I think he has done well. It made sense to compare the experience of Caribbean men in the service of the British to the segregated men and women serving in the forces of the United States at that time, hence the comparison with the fabled Tuskegee Airmen. I have in mind a revealing photo of a party of black US Army nurses arriving in sunny Glasgow in 1943 being filmed for home news consumption to make the desired point to a domestic audience while several white men look on with what appears to be utter contempt.
Jamaican veteran Neil Flanigan recounts his memories of serving in “Coming From Jamaica To Serve In The RAF” for the YouTube Channel “WW2: I Was There.”
The Associated Press just published “Remembering D-Day, RAF veteran Gilbert Clarke recalls the thrill of planes overhead.”
LONDON (AP) — Gilbert Clarke leans back on the seat of his mobility scooter, cranes his neck and gazes into the bright blue skies over East London, remembering the moment 80 years ago when he knew the invasion of France was under way.
Clarke, then an 18-year-old Royal Air Force volunteer from Jamaica, was still a trainee learning about the intricacies of radar systems when the roar of aircraft engines forced him to look to the heavens on June 6, 1944.
“You couldn’t have seen the blue sky,” Clarke recalled, his voice tinged with awe eight decades later. “Was all planes. Hundreds and thousands of them — all shapes and sizes. All different type of plane. The instructor (said) ‘Hmm. Well, boys, it’s started.’’’
“We all shouted, `Give them hell,’ or probably something a lot stronger than that.’’
The number of survivors who served in WWII is shrinking fast. It is important that we hear their stories and thank them for their service. It is just as important to memorialize the history of the Caribbean people who served and died, as well as those who are still living.
Please join me in the comment section below to share your family stories of the war, and for the weekly Caribbean News Roundup.
Campaign Action Denise Oliver Velez June 07, 2024 at 12:30AM From Daily Kos
