In 1948, President Harry Truman signed an order desegregating all armed forces. Each of the men profiled in in the program looks back sixty years and recalls, with bittersweet emotions, their experiences, accomplishments and the difficult conditions he endured while serving in a military punctuated by bigotry and racism.

Gilmon Brooks – Tinton Falls, NJ
Gilmon Brooks, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, was one of the first blacks to enter the U.S. Marine Corps. Following boot camp, Brooks was assigned to the 8th Marine Ammunition Company – one of four all-black units that would be among the first to see combat in Iwo Jima. Brooks quickly moved up the ranks to take on a leadership role as platoon sergeant. He was present on Iwo Jima during the historic flag raising on Mount Surabachi. Brooks vividly recounts this historic event with extreme emotion.

Milton Holmes – Tinton Falls, NJ
In 1945 at the age of 17, Milton Holmes entered Hampton Institute, and soon after learned about a training program at Tuskegee Institute. After passing the four-day entrance exam, Holmes found himself among the elite Tuskegee Airman’s group. Although World War II had ended by the time Holmes completed his training, he went on to apply the lessons he had learned in a segregated military – valuable lessons that would carry him through many milestones in his life.

Charles Nolley – Edison, NJ
In the early 1940’s as a Tuskegee airman, Charles Nolley was a member of the 99th Pursuit squadron whose job it was to protect the American bombers from enemy attack. It is with very bittersweet memories that Nolley recalls the hardships he and other Tuskegee airman endured in a racist and segregated military. Nolley is now 90 years old.