" ROLLING TO THE RHINE " RED BALL EXPRESS WWII AFRICAN AMERICAN TRUCK DRIVERS IN EUROPE 80560

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
  • Support Our Channel : / periscopefilm
    Updated version here: • Video
    This WWII film profiles the Red Ball Express, an enormous truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944. The route, marked with red balls, was closed to civilian traffic; the trucks were marked with the same red balls and also given priority on regular roads.
    The system, which originated in an urgent 36-hour meeting, began operating on August 25, 1944. It ran until November 16, when the port facilities at Antwerp, Belgium, were opened, some French rail lines were repaired, and portable gasoline pipelines were deployed.
    The Red Ball Express was primarily operated by African-American soldiers.
    This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFi...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 47

  • @LilliLamour
    @LilliLamour 4 роки тому +30

    My grandfather Charles Shandy did not care to talk to anyone about his time in the military. Well not until I was at his house watching old movies when this film came on. Granddaddy sat next to me, and proudly told me how he was apart of The Red Ball Express. These men were the equivalent of Tuskegee Airmen but in Trucks. As I was when he shared with me, as when the Army acknowledged him during his funeral and as I am watching this video now. I'm so very proud of my granddaddy for being brave at 17 and taking on these missions successfully. It is a true honor to know his bravery is being remembered.

    • @jharvey5067
      @jharvey5067 2 роки тому +2

      Mine Too. He had a huge photo of him all the men and their trucks behind them. 50, 60 guys it looked like. Maybe they served together

    • @bonniebreckenridge5236
      @bonniebreckenridge5236 Рік тому

      I've been doing research about The Red Ball Express for a book I'm writing. My dad was stationed in France at a supply depot and became friends with some of the Black drivers. One of the only stories he told us was how the drivers would sing as they started out, he was told it was partly to get the rhythm of the double clutching. Stripped gears were a big problem! One of those friends gave him his first harmonica so he could play music with them on those rare down times around a fire. I came across a great book about the Black drivers. The Road to Victory, by David P. Colley. If The Red Ball interests you, I highly recommend it. Especially if your father or grandfather was one of the brave men who drove. I got it from my library. I'm glad your grandfather was acknowledged for his brave service, Lilli.

  • @larryblack2981
    @larryblack2981 4 роки тому +17

    126th Port Company Transportation Corps, sent to Ie Shima in the Pacific, included my uncle., a black driver/mechanic He was killed in hand -to-hand combat. He was 22. R.I.P.

  • @76chrissymac
    @76chrissymac 5 років тому +11

    My grandaddy drove an ammo truck on the red ball to the front lines in Germany. I sure do miss you papaw

    • @PeriscopeFilm
      @PeriscopeFilm  5 років тому +4

      He and his compatriots were an important part of victory --

  • @robincourser
    @robincourser 9 років тому +20

    My father, Richard H Courser was a forward observer with the 44th Artillery and traveled with the Red Ball express in France.

  • @bettinamcclendon9026
    @bettinamcclendon9026 2 місяці тому +3

    ❤❤THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE 💪 💪 💪 RIP 🙏 💙 DADDY AND ALL THE MEN WHO WERE A PART OF THIS RED BALL EXPRESS!!! GREAT MEN !!!

  • @retiredafce3373
    @retiredafce3373 8 років тому +34

    We need to thank the black Americans who participated. We need to show them our gratitude.

    • @chuckwin100
      @chuckwin100 6 років тому

      they only needed to stay awake for this job and at no time were they in combat...that was a job for whites.

    • @nonyadamnbusiness9887
      @nonyadamnbusiness9887 6 років тому +2

      It's called Veterans Day.

    • @maltinamaltina2665
      @maltinamaltina2665 5 років тому +11

      @@chuckwin100 Go read some actual history books - they were not armed, but they were fired on by the Germans and some were killed and injured - they passed through combat zones.
      They were regarded as expendable by Eisenhower, and they not only had to struggle with stretches of driving for 20 hours a max possible speed, but also had to deal day to day with the entrenched racism and prejudice of the segregated US Army, including taunts, hostility and even violence from the GIs they were supplying with essential materiel.

    • @JCinerea
      @JCinerea 2 роки тому +2

      This is four years after the fact, but I'll drop a reply anyways. Red Ball Express drivers were almost surely captured and/or fired on during the Battle of the Bulge. Even if the majority of these men did not see combat, we have to understand the degrading bullshit that they went through. All of the civilian occupations referred to in this film were often the only ones available to people of color. So these men would come from that background, risk their lives in a segregated army, and then if they weren't captured or killed by white supremacists (Nazis), then they would come home to face the same lack of opportunity, segregation, and racism. My hat is off to these men.

  • @Iamyoung4094
    @Iamyoung4094 9 років тому +34

    14th Armored Division Motor Transport Corps included my father in law,, Bernard Slaughter R.I.P.

    • @barryhirst4775
      @barryhirst4775 6 років тому +1

      Reginald Young q

    • @george4125
      @george4125 5 років тому +1

      I am a Slaughter, and my Granfather Albert B Wess was also in the Red Ball Express..

  • @jebarr1
    @jebarr1 5 років тому +9

    I can’t believe that this is such a little known part of WW2. My father in law, by all accounts a great Man who died before I met my Wife, was Hispanic. I’ve heard the stories that He drove fuel and munitions trucks to the front line after DDay. I’m very intrigued by the Express and I wonder if he was part of it.

  • @Ebash-Banderu
    @Ebash-Banderu 8 років тому +15

    Ben Hur 1-ton trailer - 02:19, 06:21 (background), 06:32 (two)
    Chevrolet G7113 with Higнway М118, Van, 6-ton, single axle, 2-Wheel - 02:00 (three), 02:25 (five), 08:06 (two), 08:11 (one)
    GMC CCKW 352 А1 - 04:22
    GMC CCKW 352 А2 with M37 mounting - 02:45
    GMC CCW 352 (6x4)??? - 04:27
    GMC CCKW 353 A1 - 04:53, 07:19-23
    GMC CCKW 353 A2 - 02:48, 03:57, 04:05, 04:34, 04:52, 07:25, 08:15
    GMC CCKW 353(?) A2 - 06:36
    GMC CCKW 353 B1 - 04:38 (with M36 mounting), 08:12
    GMC CCKW 353 B2 - 03:54, 06:01, 09:05
    GMC CCW 353 (6x4)??? - 09:01
    Studebaker US6 (the first truck in the convoy) - 05:53
    M10 Wolverine - 03:22, 03:28, 03:32
    M4A1 (76)W Sherman - 03:23-26
    two GMC AFKWX 353 with tarpaulin cab type 1620 - 04:03
    Diamond T969A wrecker (Holmes W45 twin-boom crane) - 04:08, 06:01
    two Diamond T968 A/B - 08:01
    Federal 94X43 B/C 4x4 tractor - 02:21, 04:10
    Autocar U-7144T 4x4 tractor - 01:14, 03:08, 04:12 (with M30 Fuel Semitrailer -6-Ton Payload, 10-Ton Gross, 2-Wheel, Fuel Tank, 2000-Gallon (G-678), 04:17, 04:19, 08:09
    Dodge T223-WC63 - 04:29
    M426 International H-542-11 - 05:23(with type C2 Trailer Co. of America), 05:56 (with 25-foot semitrailer cargo 10-14 ton payload, 14-ton gross??)
    M425 International H-542-9 (with 25-foot semitrailer cargo) - 05:55, 06:54
    Tank Recovery Vehicle М31B1 and crashed Ward La France-1000 Series 4 M1 wrecker (he is at 05:20) and GMC CCKW 353 (with tarpaulin cab, M36 mounting, wooden cargo, without winch) -- 05:18
    M25\26 Dragon Wagon with M15 40-ton 8-wheels semi-trailer transporter - 05:36-50
    Dodge WF 32 - 09:10-13
    Ford GTBC (right) - 09:05
    M3A1 half-track - 03:21
    and many Willys MB

    • @PeriscopeFilm
      @PeriscopeFilm  8 років тому +2

      +Карл Маркс Thanks so much!

    • @Ebash-Banderu
      @Ebash-Banderu 8 років тому +1

      PeriscopeFilm You are welcome. Not everyone was able to determine because of the lack of information . If you made ​​a mistake somewhere - say where. if there is information confirming give the link . )

  • @JamesBakerN6WRV
    @JamesBakerN6WRV Рік тому +2

    A nearby neighbor who was a Red Ball Express driver said they were often behind enemy lines.

  • @bonniebreckenridge5236
    @bonniebreckenridge5236 Рік тому +2

    I'm going to repeat a reply to Lilli L' amour: If your interested in the black soldiers who drove during The Red Ball Express. While researching for a book I'm writing, I found a wonderful book called The Road to Victory, by David P. Colley. It gives the 73,000 or more black soldiers who drove those trucks their due and discuses their experience in a Jim Crow Army. I highly recommend it. These old War Department reels sure aren't going to do those men justice!

  • @douglasvick9703
    @douglasvick9703 Рік тому

    In Kent in England every year an enormous Show....""""War and Peace""""Aa wonderful spectacle and Red Ball Express have a wonderful display...Be There.!!!!!

  •  7 років тому +17

    The film carefully sidesteps the issue of Blacks not permitted to serve in combat units....(with a few exceptions)

    • @windwalker5765
      @windwalker5765 4 роки тому

      It was made in the forties, the subject was still taboo.

    • @TB-hq1ub
      @TB-hq1ub 4 роки тому

      So you missed the whole point and bring up racism SMH

  • @juwancarter4390
    @juwancarter4390 2 роки тому +1

    Does anyone else notice that the way they to avoid saying the drivers were Black? With lines like" I served you boiled beef and potatos in Tallahassee " meaning I was Black!

    • @DocMatthews0311
      @DocMatthews0311 Рік тому

      The white narrator was also disrespectful. 75% of the Red Ball drivers were Black

  • @anibalcesarnishizk2205
    @anibalcesarnishizk2205 2 роки тому +1

    The Autobahn were very useful to the Allies.

  • @dorothygale5896
    @dorothygale5896 5 років тому +1

    The Express was only in existence from Aug-Nov '44.

  • @paulwilson2895
    @paulwilson2895 Рік тому

    Darn; the Ukes should be running a RED BALL EXPRESS!!!!!

  • @Komodokhan148
    @Komodokhan148 5 років тому +2

    The 88M of WWll

  • @rosewhite---
    @rosewhite--- 6 років тому +4

    5:40 what make is that truck!

    • @pietpuk9343
      @pietpuk9343 6 років тому +2

      M25 Tank-transporter

    • @kencaldwell1399
      @kencaldwell1399 6 років тому

      The M25 Tank Transporter was a combination 6x6 M26 armored heavy tank transporter/tank recovery tractor and companion 40-ton M15 trailer introduced into US Army service in Europe in 1944-45. Wikipedia
      Wars: World War II
      Engine: Hall-Scott 440 gasoline; 240 hp (180 kW)
      Fuel capacity: 120 US gal (450 l)
      Armor: front 3⁄4 in (19 mm); sides, rear 1⁄4 in (6.4 mm)
      In service: 1941-1955
      Manufacturer: M26: Pacific Car & Foundry Co. M15: Fruehauf Trailer Co.
      Crew: 7
      I just googled it. I would have guessed it was an Oshkosh

    • @rosewhite---
      @rosewhite--- 6 років тому

      the forward control would make one into an awesome ratrod!

  • @natew1494
    @natew1494 6 років тому +2

    This vid "Yadaa Yadaa'd" a whole lot of history.

    • @lwilton
      @lwilton 6 років тому +5

      This was clearly a War Production Board film intended to be shown to workers in the US to show them what their output was being used for, and to encourage them to continue producing at fairly amazing rates.
      It wasn't a history film, it was a newsreel, and its focus was on the goods produced, (because it was shown to the people producing the goods) and not so much on the people using them. The people were generally portrayed as "your neighbors, your kids, your friends, the people that live next door and are now serving Over There, that you want to help."

  • @wtxrailfan
    @wtxrailfan 3 роки тому

    At 9:12 you'll see why your daddy couldn't get two new tires for the Packard back in the day.

  • @haroldbrenning4101
    @haroldbrenning4101 7 місяців тому

    72% of the red ball express was africn american. Enough said. !!!

  • @ClassicStang
    @ClassicStang 5 років тому +4

    Guess they could not find a Black person to tell the story.

    • @davidschwartz6380
      @davidschwartz6380 4 роки тому +1

      @desertmandan123 i hafta tell you..the narrator sounds white...not black

    • @Joslynn_Mason
      @Joslynn_Mason 3 роки тому +5

      @desertmandan123 it’s not racist, majority of these drivers were colored so it makes sense to want someone colored speaking

    • @Joslynn_Mason
      @Joslynn_Mason 3 роки тому

      @desertmandan123 what? i have but what does that have to do with this

    • @Joslynn_Mason
      @Joslynn_Mason 3 роки тому

      @desertmandan123 it wasn’t a racist comment and you can’t accuse me of reverse racism when you don’t even know my race

    • @Joslynn_Mason
      @Joslynn_Mason 3 роки тому

      @desertmandan123 ahh okay i misunderstood you, i thought you were saying it was racist to want someone colored speaking, not the assumption that it was someone white. i completely agree then