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Archiver > CARIBBEAN > 1999-09 > 0936302330


From: "Edward Crawford" <>
Subject: Re: [CARIBBEAN] Re: British West Indian Regiment
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 20:58:50 +0100


That sounds convincing to me. It was more or less what I was saying. Indian
troops had an intermediate social position.

I have the impression that in the US Army also Blacks were not used in
combat on the Western Front in 1917-1918. There were a few all black units
in 1941-1945 but again most Blacks were used in non-combat roles. It was
only in the Korean war that the US Army became fully integrated. By the
Vietnam war many people were only too glad to give poor minorities a
disproportionately large combat role.

Edward Crawford

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Bond <>
To: <>
Date: 02 September 1999 19:55
Subject: [CARIBBEAN] Re: British West Indian Regiment


The Blacks, Colored and Indians from the Caribbean were not used in
COMBAT against Europeans. Egypt is not in Europe. Jews are European in
this context not Black or Indian.. White Caribbeans were treated as
European as were the Boers. Blacks were in labor details or used in
COMBAT against other non Europeans. Even if trained for COMBAT the non
European units in European theaters were used as labor. There were even
instances of nonwhite artillery men offered as laborers to relieve white
labor units.


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