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Shop nowForgotten
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Learn moreThe injustices of 1940s Jim Crow America are brought to life in this extraordinary blend of military and social history, an account that pays tribute to the valor of an all-black battalion whose crucial contributions at D-day have gone unrecognized to this day.
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit of African American soldiers, landed on the beaches of France. Their orders were to man a curtain of armed balloons meant to deter enemy aircraft. One member of the 320th would be nominated for the Medal of Honor, an award he would never receive because the nation’s highest decoration was not given to black soldiers in World War II.
Drawing on newly uncovered military records and dozens of original interviews with surviving members of the 320th and their families, Linda Hervieux tells the story of these heroic men charged with an extraordinary mission, whose contributions to one of the most celebrated events in modern history have been overlooked.
Thousands of African Americans were sent abroad to fight for liberties denied them at home, including these members of the 320th: Wilson Monk, a jack-of-all-trades from Atlantic City; Henry Parham, the son of sharecroppers from rural Virginia; William Dabney, an eager seventeen-year-old from Roanoke, Virginia; and Samuel Mattison, a charming romantic from Columbus, Ohio. In Europe, these soldiers discovered freedom they had not known in a homeland that treated them as second-class citizens—experiences they carried back to America, fueling the budding civil-rights movement.
In telling the story of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, Hervieux offers a vivid account of the tension between racial politics and national service in wartime America and a moving narrative of human bravery and perseverance in the face of injustice.
Linda Hervieux is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Paris since 2004. Before that, she was a senior editor at the Daily News in New York. Her writing and photos have appeared in the Daily News, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, and Fodor’s Paris guide, among other publications.
Ron Butler is a Los Angeles-based actor and voice artist with over a hundred film and television credits (playing everything from brooding doctors to screwball hipsters). Most kids will recognize him from the three seasons he spent on Nickelodeon's True Jackson, VP. Ron works regularly as a commercial and animation voice-over artist and has voiced a wide variety of audiobooks. He is a member of the Atlantic Theater Company and an Independent Filmmaker Project Award winner for his work in the HBO film Everyday People. Originally from the Bahamas, Ron grew up singing calypso onstage with his father (the country's number-one recording artist) before touring (and recording) in Europe with a jazz band. In his spare time, he impersonates the president while playing the ukulele.
Reviews
“An utterly compelling account of the African Americans who played a crucial and dangerous role in the invasion of Europe. The story of their heroic duty is long overdue.”
“Forgotten is essential, fiercely dramatic, and ultimately inspiring. All Americans should read this World War II history, which doubles as a civil-rights primer, to learn the true cost of freedom.”
“Compelling a welcome addition to our understanding of the war and the American military.”
“Thrilling…Forgotten manages to weave the intricate complexities of history into a clear, convincing text that is accessible to both the lay person and the history buff. Here is a stunning achievement that will add much to the historical scholarship of our country.”
“Powerfully gives voice to the African Americans who were also on those beaches in northern France on that fateful day in June 1944…[in a] highly readable account.”
“Ron Butler respectfully narrates a remarkable story…Butler’s clear delivery is unpretentious, even elegant, as he describes the courage of these young Americans thrust onto the front lines of battle. Describing the shocking disparity between American prejudice and European attitudes of acceptance toward the black soldiers, Butler maintains a dignified objectivity. His rich voice warms in the personal stories of these young men from Virginia, New Jersey, and Ohio.”
“A long-overdue, sympathetic treatment of the barrage balloon operators who fought valiantly on the beaches of France…A useful history of an important, fairly unknown part of the American contribution to the Allied victory.”
“In this mesmerizing book Hervieux relates how those GIs abruptly converted from civilians into soldiers and remained focused on their military tasks for years despite oppressive discrimination and apathy on the home front. Forgotten will surely appeal to both general readers and those with an abiding interest in World War II history.”
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