03x03 - Castle Valor

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR:

In the spring of 1945,

American troops in position to capture

an Italian castle

come under heavy mortar fire.

♪

Their forward observation officer

calls repeatedly for a*tillery support.

SOLDIER:

Hill R-7!

- (expl*si*n)

- To the northeast!

NARRATOR:

But, units to the rear

do not believe

they have penetrated so far

- (g*nf*re)

- (yelling)

leaving them at the mercy

of the German defenders.

(expl*si*n)

(g*nf*re)

On June 6th, 1944,

Allied forces finally

land troops in Normandy

to open the Western Front.

(yelling in German)

- (g*nf*re)

- But n*zi fanatics and diehards

continue to fight

ferociously for survival.

(expl*si*n)

- (g*nf*re)

- D-Day was a battle.

They still need to win the w*r.

♪

April 5th, 1945.

Northern Italy.

Members of the American

370th Infantry Regiment

creep toward enemy lines.

2nd Lieutenant Vernon Baker

has discarded his helmet,

but wears his finest uniform.

DR. ROBERT JEFFERSON: Baker is dressed

in his sharpest dress greens,

because he has a premonition

of death in the coming attacks.

He wants his whole attire

and his ears to be razor sharp.

NARRATOR:

Baker and his 25 man platoon

approach the hill they must climb.

♪

A path here zigzags up the slope

onto the enemy-occupied ridge.

Boulders line the edges.

In the darkness,

the trail would be helpful,

but Baker is cautious.

DR. JEFFERSON:

On the one hand, the path

could be a relatively easy way for Baker

and his men to advance,

but on the other,

it could literally be a minefield.

NARRATOR: Just ahead, Baker spots

another figure assessing the path.

It is the company’s commanding officer,

Captain John Runyon.

Runyon was assigned to “C”

Company only weeks before.

At that time,

Baker was the de facto officer in command.

He was bumped back to platoon

leader when Runyon arrived.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker is obviously

not pleased with the change.

He sees Runyon as a man

with a great deal of bravado,

but very little experience to back it up.

♪

NARRATOR:

But as Baker watches Runyon ahead,

he observes his C.O. avoid the path,

and pick his way along the boulders.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker quickly reasons that even if

the Germans laid mines on the trail,

they likely didn't position them under

the rocks that bordered it.

VERNON BAKER:

Stay on the rocks.

NARRATOR:

So Baker breaks his silence

and orders his platoon to advance

only along the stones,

instead of the path where

the enemy expected them to tread.

Single file, they step from rock to rock,

to begin their ascent.

25-year-old Baker is a “Buffalo Soldier”.

It is a name that dates back

to the African American men

who served in the United States

Army after the Civil w*r,

starting with the Indian Wars.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Those soldiers were highly revered

by the Indigenous populations.

So much so, that not only

do they gain the esteem

of those who are serving in the area,

but also for those

that they’re fighting against.

♪

NARRATOR: In World w*r II,

the 92nd Infantry, or “Buffalo Division,”

is made up of troops

segregated by their race.

DR. JOHN MCMANUS: The vast majority

of African American servicemen

in World w*r II

are gonna be held to

a non-combat capacity.

The practice of withholding

African American servicemen

from combat is another byproduct

of this sort of assumption

of racial inequity.

It’s the idea that Black

soldiers would really not fight.

That they just intrinsically,

as a race, would not fight.

♪

NARRATOR:

Baker’s regiment, as a combat unit

ready to fight, is an exception.

As Baker and his platoon

ascend their switchback trail,

the strategy to scramble over the rocks

appears to have paid off.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Most of the platoon reaches

the top and they have

heard no mines detonate,

so it seems they are safe.

NARRATOR:

But as they catch their breath

(distant explosions)

the sound of explosions

breaks the silence.

Baker and his men

approach a German defensive position

called the Gothic Line.

Entrenched in the northern slopes

of the Apennine Mountain chain,

the Gothic Line spans

Italy from east to west,

170 miles across.

♪

More than 2,000 German machine g*n nests,

as well as minefields and heavy

a*tillery guard, its length.

Although Churchill once described Italy

as the "soft underbelly of Europe,"

its liberation from the grip

of the Nazis has proved slow.

Despite Benito Mussolini’s

overthrow and the country’s capitulation,

the Germans refused to leave.

DR. PETER LIEB:

The Germans made good use

of the Italian geography

to build up their defense lines.

You've got a series of defense lines

running through the Italian

peninsula, from coast to coast.

Always using hills, mountains,

and river valleys

in order to have

the best defense positions.

♪

NARRATOR: The Gothic Line

is the final line of German defenses

before the Po Valley

at the top of the Italian boot.

DR. LIEB: This means if the Allies

break through the Gothic Line,

they will quickly conquer and liberate

the Po Valley with all its vital industry.

Mussolini has got, still, his little

puppet state in northern Italy,

so if the Po Valley is lost,

it's obvious that

it would also mean the fall of Mussolini

and the collapse of

the Italian administration.

SOLDIER: Fire!

NARRATOR: At the western

edge of the Gothic Line,

in the valley below

their company’s position,

Allied a*tillery is in place.

(explosions)

♪

These g*ns are assigned to fire

in front of Baker and his soldiers

at predetermined intervals

to cover their advance.

DR. MCMANUS:

The role of a*tillery is to k*ll

or scatter German soldiers

through a*tillery fire,

to pound some of their bunkers

and other fortifications.

To kind of clear the way for the infantry.

NARRATOR: But the explosions “C” Company

hears detonate behind them,

not in front.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker believes that they

are under attack from friendly fire.

He motions for the men to get moving

to put distance between

themselves and the blast.

- (distant explosions)

- BAKER (whisper): Go! Go! Go!

NARRATOR:

Baker and his infantrymen rush forward.

♪

(distant explosions)

But when the platoon pauses to regroup,

Baker counts off his men and discovers

some have vanished.

(explosions continue)

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker could not

risk sending anyone back

to search for the stragglers,

for fear of losing them as well.

They had to maintain

their forward momentum.

And this is one of the elements

of being a platoon leader.

You want your men to move forward

as much as possible in order

to maintain unit integrity.

(g*nf*re)

NARRATOR:

But before long, g*nf*re erupts

and cuts off their advance.

(g*nf*re)

German machine g*ns,

concealed in the hillside, open up.

(expl*si*n)

(g*nf*re continues)

The enemy ahead,

has woken to the threat in their midst.

With his platoon held up

by the machine g*n fire,

Baker takes action.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker decides to approach

the enemy position alone.

(g*nf*re)

It is a risky move on his part.

He has no covering fire of his own.

If he's spotted, no one has his back.

NARRATOR: He creeps toward

the German machine g*n nest

(g*nf*re continues)

and launches his attack.

♪

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR:

April 1945.

Northern Tuscany.

A segregated African American unit,

the 370th Infantry Regiment

(g*nf*re)

falls under attack as they push

into the Germans’ Gothic Line.

♪

2nd Lieutenant Vernon Baker

and his platoon

must get past the machine g*n fire.

He unleashes his barrage.

He kills three Germans

and silences the post.

DR. JEFFERSON:

By attacking alone,

Baker has risked himself

for his platoon, and it pays off.

His unit can carry on.

♪

NARRATOR: As they continue to climb,

their objective looms high above.

A 1,500-year-old fortress.

Castle Aghinolfi.

Named for the Italian prince

who first added fortifications

to the rocky outcrop.

In World w*r II,

the castle towers above the

western end of the Gothic Line.

DR. LIEB: What was true back

in the medieval times

is also true in 1945.

Castle Aghinolfi is a high ground,

which gives the Germans a good opportunity

to observe the Allies’

movements in the valley,

and they've got good defense

positions up on the top of the hill.

NARRATOR:

In the spring of 1945, the men of

Generalleutnant

Otto Fretter-Pico occupy the castle.

DR. LIEB:

Otto Fretter-Pico is actually

considered initially

as a very promising general.

He is in command of an infantry

division on the Eastern Front,

but then suffers from

a psychological breakdown.

He’s being sent to France as

a commander of a training division,

and this division

is later moved into Italy

and upgraded to

an infantry division again.

NARRATOR:

Their position overlooks a highway.

The main route to the city of Massa.

Fretter-Pico can use this position

to call a*tillery down on

any enemy advance.

♪

In the early morning darkness,

Baker and his platoon reach

a hilltop below the castle.

They spot something peculiar.

A bright yellow wire snakes

along in front of them.

DR. JEFFERSON:

It is a material called plastic,

and for many of them, including Baker,

this is a first time for them.

Most of them have never

laid eyes on plastic

used like this before.

NARRATOR:

Baker severs the line.

Curious, he scrapes

the plastic coating back,

to reveal what lies underneath.

DR. JEFFERSON:

To his surprise, Baker sees that

the core is copper.

This tells him that it is some

sort of communications wire,

and he acts on that.

NARRATOR:

As the platoon moves forward,

more lines appear.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker cuts each and every wire.

More than a dozen in total.

He would later recall that it felt good

to inflict every bit of damage

he could on the enemy.

♪

NARRATOR: The advance of the US

370th Infantry Regiment towards Massa

is a diversionary tactic.

The goal of Operation Second Wind

is to draw German forces to the west,

while to the east,

the Allies launch a major attack

to penetrate into the Po Valley,

and take the city of Bologna.

With night turned to day,

the American platoon rounds

the outer edge of a hill.

A glint catches their attention.

The 2nd Lieutenant closes in.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker spots a pair of metal tubes

protruding from a slot in the hillside.

He thinks they must be g*n barrels,

a telltale sign of an enemy machine g*n

nest concealed below.

NARRATOR:

It needs to be cleared.

♪

Baker drops down

and propels himself forward.

He approaches the hillside slit,

comes to his knees,

and raises his g*n.

His weapon is an M1 Garand r*fle.

It weighs nine and a half pounds,

with an eight round, 30-caliber clip.

It is the first semi-automatic r*fle

used by the US Army as

a standard infantry weapon.

More than five million of them

are manufactured over

the life of its production.

Officers usually carry

a lighter-weight g*n.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker chooses a different weapon.

As someone who was raised

hunting in Wyoming,

he prefers the M1

because it reminds him of the r*fle

he used to sh**t deer and elk back home.

He describes the M1's heavy,

wooden stock as a "solid comfort."

NARRATOR:

Baker slides his r*fle into the slit.

He works the trigger,

until the clip is spent.

(metal clang)

He peers inside.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker sees one

German soldier slumped over dead,

but a second is still alive.

And he drags himself

across the floor of the bunker

towards a pile of grenades in the corner.

♪

NARRATOR:

Baker faces an expl*sive situation.

NARRATOR:

April 1945.

The northwest coast of Italy.

After attacking an enemy bunker,

2nd Lieutenant Vernon Baker

- of the 370th Infantry Regiment,

- (metal clang)

observes a German soldier

crawling toward a pile of grenades.

With a spent clip,

Baker grabs a grenade from his jacket,

pulls the pin,

and throws it into the machine g*n nest.

(expl*si*n)

As the smoke clears, Baker creeps inside.

He surveys the bunker.

The soldier now lies dead.

He checks out the German field telephones.

The two metal cylinders

he thought were g*n barrels

are actually the top portion

of an observation instrument.

DR. LIEB: A scherenfernrohr translates

into "scissors binoculars."

It was used very often by the Germans

as a tool to observe enemy movements

or to direct a*tillery fire.

The big advantage is

when you're sitting in a trench,

you don't have to lift

your head above the edge.

♪

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker would later remember,

looking into the eyepieces.

He could see American troops

down below on the flats,

and he realizes how easy it would be

for the Germans to call in

indirect fire to wipe them out.

NARRATOR: As an observation post,

it is a critical position.

DR. MCMANUS:

The most potent weapon the enemy has,

arguably, is his a*tillery observer.

That’s the guy who controls

the heaviest firepower

that is gonna inflict the most casualties.

When Baker encounters the a*tillery OP,

this is really a much higher value target

than just a simple machine g*n bunker.

NARRATOR:

As he continues to investigate,

Baker notices something else.

The same yellow lines

he had cut earlier in the day

run from the field telephones

out from the bunker.

DR. JEFFERSON: It's entirely possible

that these German forces

had spotted Baker's platoon

as it advanced,

but they couldn't bring down the attack

because the severed phone lines

meant that they were

not able to call it in.

If he wouldn't have cut those wires,

they would've been in dire

danger going forward.

NARRATOR:

Baker takes another grenade,

pulls the pin, and places it

between the binocular tubes,

then quickly exits the bunker.

♪

(expl*si*n)

DR. JEFFERSON: Well, to his credit,

Baker doesn't wait around to watch

but when he hears a muffled expl*si*n,

he knows that the grenade

has done its job.

The observation post is no more.

NARRATOR:

In less than two hours,

Baker and his platoon have pushed

nearly three miles into enemy territory.

DR. MCMANUS:

In this case,

you are taking some

pretty valuable ground,

especially a lot of high ground,

that the Germans could use

to inflict casualties

upon the American attackers.

And the fact that they take it as they do

within about two or so hours,

I think is pretty impressive.

NARRATOR:

Their rate of advance

contradicts the expectations of most

of the US Army’s senior officers.

Colonel Raymond Sherman

commands Baker’s segregated regiment.

DR. MCMANUS: The US army is

segregated in World w*r II

because of traditional Jim Crow

segregation race customs

that predominate throughout much

of American society at that point.

The profound irony,

and really to some extent,

the disgraceful irony, this whole thing.

The United States is mobilizing

to full resources

and fighting all over the globe,

to destroy some of the most homicidally

r*cist regimes in human history,

and it’s doing so with armed forces

segregated on the basis of race.

NARRATOR: Sherman lived and worked

in the state of Virginia in the 1930s.

♪

In the Second World w*r,

it is also the general practice

of the American military

to place White southerners

in senior command of Black men.

DR. MCMANUS:

You see this kind of twisted

kind of expectation

that White Southern officers

are especially well suited

to lead Black soldiers

because they knew how to keep

Black soldiers in their place

because they had done that back home.

So, you see this

kind of toxic replication.

NARRATOR: Sherman believes

Black troops to be unreliable

and prone to cowardice.

(inaudible)

♪

His views are not uncommon

among senior White officers of his time

and profoundly impacts the experiences

of more than one million African Americans

who serve their country in World w*r II.

DR. MCMANUS:

Colonel Sherman, and officers like him,

probably would have attributed any

failure of African American soldiers

to their intrinsic

shortcomings or weaknesses

or inferiority as a race.

Also, I think quite significantly,

officers like Colonel Sherman

would not point

the finger at themselves.

Whereas some of the better

leadership in other units

might have thought,

“I didn’t train these guys well enough,”

or “I didn’t make

good decisions.” Honest leaders.

In this case, it’s an easy

kind of scapegoat

to say, “oh well, these guys

just don’t have it in them.”

♪

NARRATOR:

Deep into the Germans’ Gothic Line,

Captain John Runyon,

“C” Company’s White commander,

rendezvous with Baker

to discuss the final approach

on their objective.

Castle Aghinolfi.

They are now just 250 yards

south of the German-held fortress.

DR. MCMANUS: This is a castle that

basically controls this entire sector

because it’s on some of

the key high ground. Plus,

they’ve had the opportunity to fortify it,

and, obviously,

that only makes it stronger.

NARRATOR:

If the Americans can take Aghinolfi,

it may just clear the way to

the city of Massa up the coast.

(inaudible)

But, Runyon and Baker’s debate

comes to a sudden halt.

A German soldier emerges from nearby brush

with a grenade in his hand.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Runyon panics and bolts.

Baker is trying to get off a shot,

but cannot

because Runyon pushes past him.

Baker must have thought

his days on Earth were done.

♪

Amazingly, it was a dud.

It didn't explode.

NARRATOR: Baker lifts his r*fle

again and takes aim.

(g*nsh*t)

The fleeing German falls to the ground.

Baker scans his surroundings.

Runyon has disappeared.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker is absolutely furious.

He sees Runyon's behavior as amateurish,

as well as hysterical.

The White commander who lectured

him on combat performance

has run away from a fight.

♪

(speaking German)

(distant g*nf*re)

NARRATOR:

As the platoon regroups,

one of the G.I.s gestures to

a flock of birds soaring above.

But, his platoon commander knows better.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker received

training as a mortar man.

To him, the black specks flying

their way are unmistakable.

He yells to his men to take cover.

BAKER:

Take cover!

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR:

The platoon’s arrival has been detected.

A German mortar unit

launches a barrage from

a nearby hill in response.

(explosions)

Moments later,

a series of explosions detonate

around the American soldiers.

- (explosions)

- DR. JEFFERSON: The mortars release

a tornado of metal shrapnel.

Pieces of metal cut into their skin.

The Germans opened fire

with their g*ns as well.

(g*nf*re)

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR: The attack kills three members

of “C” Company and wounds three more.

Baker and his men are exposed

and outmatched.

They need support from Allied

a*tillery positioned in the valley below,

but the American heavy g*ns remain silent.

- (yelling)

- “C” Company’s forward a*tillery observer,

2nd Lieutenant Walker, shouts

coordinates into the radio set.

(expl*si*n)

DR. JEFFERSON:

Walker's been calling for

a*tillery support

since the mortar attack began.

(expl*si*n)

- But there's a problem.

- (expl*si*n)

The officers below refuses

to believe that a segregated, Black unit

had advanced as far as the castle.

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR:

Baker watches

as Walker repeats their position,

again and again

WALKER:

I repeat, Hill R-7!

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR:

powerless to make them understand.

♪

NARRATOR:

April 1945.

Northwestern Italy.

Under attack by German mortar fire,

the remains of an American company

of the 370th Infantry Regiment

is unable to summon a*tillery support.

The forward observation officer,

2nd Lieutenant Walker,

spends precious time

repeating their coordinates.

DR. JEFFERSON: Army units to the rear

simply cannot believe

that the segregated

African American soldiers

could have advanced

so far into the German's

legendary Gothic Line.

NARRATOR: Minutes after “C” Company’s

first call for help,

Allied a*tillery finally opens

up from the valley below.

(explosions)

SOLDIER: Fire!

DR. JEFFERSON:

The Allied g*ns come in painfully late,

but they deliver on target.

- (air rushing)

- Shells whiz over Baker and his men,

barely clearing their heads

as the ordinance flies

towards German positions

within about 75 yards from “C” Company.

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR: But the Allied a*tillery

offers only a temporary reprieve.

♪

(expl*si*n)

It is not long before enemy mortar

rounds target “C” Company again.

(explosions)

Baker keeps shouting

for his platoon to move.

(expl*si*n)

(g*nf*re)

DR. JEFFERSON:

The Germans redirect

the mortar rounds

to the new American positions.

(g*nf*re)

And with the threat of tree burst,

they're safer in the open

than along the tree line.

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR: Two-thirds of Baker’s platoon

have been k*lled or wounded.

(g*nf*re, explosions)

The radio, their only link to

the outside world, has been smashed.

(expl*si*n)

- (g*nf*re continues)

- Baker scans the b*ttlefield.

He tries to locate “C”

Company’s White commander.

Captain John Runyon fled from

a German attacker earlier in the day,

and has not returned to the fight.

DR. JEFFERSON: One of Baker's men gestures

towards an outbuilding.

♪

(g*nf*re continues)

NARRATOR:

Baker approaches the structure.

He finds Runyon inside.

Baker and Runyon’s accounts

of what happened next differ greatly.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker recalls Runyon's arms

wrapped tightly around his legs

and his face as the color

of bleach parchment.

He promises Baker

that he will go for reinforcements.

Runyon's report states he

decides to order a withdrawal,

and that Baker volunteers to stay behind

and cover their retreat.

NARRATOR:

In both narratives,

Runyon departs with most

of the walking wounded.

Eight others, including

Vernon Baker, stay.

Exposed in their forward position,

they set about building

a makeshift barricade

with whatever logs

and rocks they can find.

♪

At 1430 hours,

German mortar men resume their as*ault.

(explosions)

(g*nf*re)

Through the smoke and dust,

the Americans see silhouettes

in the distance.

Baker and his G.I.s

tighten the grip on their r*fles.

Their eyes strain for more detail.

A flag emerges from the haze.

It bears an unmistakable marking.

The Red Cross.

DR. MCMANUS:

The Red Cross on the b*ttlefield

represents something that’s respected,

generally by both sides.

That medics themselves

are to pose no threat, no military threat.

That they are there to bring

about relief and to save lives.

NARRATOR: Other Germans appear

behind the flag bearer.

They carry a stretcher

and also display red crosses.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Attacking medical units

is considered a w*r crime

under the Geneva Convention,

so Baker signals his men to hold fire.

BAKER:

Hold your fire.

NARRATOR: But as the Germans advance

toward the Americans’ position,

their uneasiness builds.

♪

DR. JEFFERSON:

While some of the men want

to open fire on the enemy soldiers,

Vernon Baker knows intuitively,

that to do so might put

their own medics at risk

for retaliation at another time.

NARRATOR: 50 yards shy of “C” Company’s

position, the Germans halt.

DR. JEFFERSON: They drop the stretchers,

and they peel back the blankets.

There are no wounded.

The litters are filled with machine g*ns.

NARRATOR: Baker and his men

are the victims of deceit.

NARRATOR:

April 5th, 1945.

Overlooking the northern Tuscan coast.

The surviving members

of the 370th Infantry Regiment,

who remain entrenched

in the Germans’ Gothic Line,

watch with apprehension

as German soldiers advance

under the protection of the Red Cross.

♪

When the Germans pull back the blankets,

they reveal machine g*ns

and move quickly to set them up.

DR. LIEB:

Using the Red Cross emblem

to pose as a medic unit

is a blatant breach

of the Geneva Convention.

It is a w*r crime.

NARRATOR: The r*cist underpinnings

of n*zi ideology

could have been a factor

in this deception.

DR. LIEB:

We actually do not know

what the German soldiers in situ

thought about Afro-American soldiers,

but we can also assume that some of them

were ardent Nazis

and believed that the life

of an Afro-American soldier

is not as much worthy

as the life of a White American soldier.

NARRATOR: Now, the enemy’s

true intention is revealed.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker's reluctance

and hesitance evaporates.

He yells, "Hit the b*stards.”

BAKER:

Fire!

- (g*nf*re)

- Hit the b*stards!

(b*ll*ts flying)

NARRATOR: American b*ll*ts pick

off several of the pretenders

before they can fire a single round.

(g*nf*re)

The rest fade away.

(g*nsh*t)

♪

Despite the element of surprise,

the time and dexterity required

to set up the machine g*ns

worked against the Germans.

Their plan fails.

♪

But for 2nd Lieutenant Vernon Baker,

there’s a bigger concern.

“C” Company’s commander,

Captain John Runyon,

left the b*ttlefield three hours before.

DR. JEFFERSON: As Baker recalls,

their White commander had left

with the promise

of securing reinforcements.

NARRATOR: With a makeshift

barrier as their only protection,

Baker looks behind him again and again.

He scans for the additional troops

he expects Captain Runyon to send,

but they do not arrive.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Suddenly,

Baker realizes to his dismay,

that their senior leadership

may still not believe

that his segregated unit

had made it so far into enemy territory

and continued to hold the line.

NARRATOR:

Earlier in the day,

Allied a*tillery support

proved difficult to get.

Now, reinforcements seem impossible.

He surveys what remains of his platoon.

♪

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker describes a feeling

of hopelessness and exhaustion

that hangs over his men,

and there's another problem.

After their latest gunfight,

they're running dangerously

low on ammunition.

NARRATOR: They have only one

or two clips left for each soldier.

Baker faces a difficult choice.

They have advanced three miles

into the Germans’ formidable Gothic Line.

A mere 250 yards

away from their objective,

Castle Aghinolfi.

But without more men,

they cannot take the fortress.

They cannot stay either.

He decides to withdraw.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker doesn't make this choice

for self-preservation.

He recalls

that he has no fear of death,

but he does feel responsible

for the lives of his men.

And this is a fight

they merely cannot win.

♪

NARRATOR:

Even as they begin to retreat,

the Germans renew their attack

to wipe them out.

(g*nf*re)

(g*nsh*t)

(g*nf*re)

As the remains of “C” Company

head for the security of their line,

they must descend through three miles

of enemy territory.

(expl*si*n)

(explosions)

German sn*per fire rings out.

(expl*si*n)

The platoon’s last medic

drops to the ground.

BAKER:

Move! Move! Move!

NARRATOR:

Baker shouts for his men to keep moving.

(g*nf*re)

♪

For “C” Company,

it seems there is no escape.

NARRATOR:

April 1945. Northern Italy.

- (g*nf*re)

- A German sn*per picks off

the surviving medic of

the 370th Infantry Regiment

as they retreat to the American line

- after reinforcements fail to arrive.

- (explosions)

But as 2nd Lieutenant Vernon Baker

kneels down

to collect the medic’s dog tags,

one of his soldiers goes on the offensive.

Private James Thomas heaves

his Browning Automatic r*fle

around towards the source

of the German sn*per shot and opens fire.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Baker would later say,

that Private Thomas just goes crazy.

The Browning Automatic r*fle

looked like balsa wood in his hands.

NARRATOR: When the German

r*fle slides down the hill,

the sn*per’s fate is clear.

DR. JEFFERSON: Well, it happened so fast

that Thomas managed

to eliminate the concealed sh**ter

before Baker even finishes collecting

the fallen medics' tags.

♪

(g*nf*re)

NARRATOR:

A short time later,

Baker’s platoon plunges

towards the slope of the hill

they ascended just that morning

(g*nf*re continues)

as the German defenders

continue their pursuit.

(explosions)

DR. JEFFERSON: Earlier in the day,

they had snuck up the snaking switchbacks.

They had climbed on the boulders.

(g*nf*re)

But now, they're running for their lives.

They're tearing straight down

in order to get out of harm's way

as quickly as they possibly can.

NARRATOR: When they reach

the bottom of the slope,

it is a short sprint to the American line.

♪

After 12 hours of combat,

Baker and a few survivors

have finally made it to safety.

(inaudible)

He started the day

with 25 men in his platoon.

Now, only six remain.

BAKER:

Move out.

NARRATOR: He orders the wounded

to seek out the first aid station

and for the others to report in.

DR. JEFFERSON: And then, Baker,

who was literally overwhelmed

by what he's been through,

doubles over and throws up.

He has spent the day

seeing men blown to pieces,

and as the adrenaline wears off,

the emotions are very raw for him.

♪

NARRATOR: Back at base,

Baker has a final responsibility.

(dog tags rattling)

NARRATOR:

He must turn over the dog tags

he collected throughout the day

to regimental headquarters.

NARRATOR: There, he encounters

the 370th Commander,

Colonel Raymond Sherman.

DR. JEFFERSON:

Sherman doesn't ask about

the castle that could've been captured,

the heavy losses Baker's platoon

sustains in the process.

Actually, it seems Sherman wants to talk

about Baker's helmet or lack thereof.

Baker had a tradition of

leaving his helmet behind

because he felt like it impaired

his hearing and his sight,

as to what was happening on the ground.

(inaudible)

Senior army commanders, like Sherman,

did not see it that way.

They didn't see that as a positive

attribute. In fact, they saw it as

a dereliction of duty.

(inaudible)

NARRATOR:

Sherman reprimands Baker, calling him,

“a disgrace to the universe,

God, and country.”

♪

One of Sherman’s officers

hands Baker a helmet.

He slams it onto his head,

- (inaudible)

- And is more than happy to be dismissed.

♪

The next day,

under orders from Colonel Sherman,

Baker returns to the same b*ttlefield.

DR. JEFFERSON:

This is tragic irony as well

because a company from

the 473rd Infantry Regiment

has just been assigned

to pick up where Baker's platoon left off.

And after “C” Company’s

advance the day before,

Baker knows this terrain intimately.

So, he leads the way.

NARRATOR: But this time,

the American troops meet no resistance.

After heavy losses inflicted

by “C” Company,

the Germans have withdrawn from the area.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker and his men had

cleared the way the day before.

The all White company captures the castle

without firing a single shot.

So Baker and his men

bore the brunt of the actual fighting,

without being allowed

to receive credit for it.

♪

NARRATOR:

On the way back to base,

Baker happens upon the switchback trail

his platoon flanked in the darkness

in a bid to avoid potential mines.

He makes a painful discovery.

He finds the bodies of several of his men

who had gone missing the previous day.

DR. JEFFERSON: Baker had initially

believed that his platoon sustained

no casualties that early in their advance.

But in this moment, he realizes

the sounds he thought

were Allied a*tillery fire

firing behind their position,

were actually landmines exploding,

k*lling these men.

To see his men laying lifeless

reinforces the futility

of all of these losses.

♪

NARRATOR:

For his actions on April 5th, 1945,

Captain John F. Runyon

wins the Distinguished Service Cross,

the United States’ second highest medal

for valor in combat.

For his actions on the 5th

and 6th of April,

including credit for

k*lling nine enemy soldiers,

2nd Lieutenant Vernon Baker

earns the Distinguished Service Cross.

(g*nf*re)

Some thought that Baker’s

actions were worth more.

DR. JEFFERSON:

The highest award

an American soldier

can earn for valor in combat

is the Medal of Honor,

but it would not be awarded

to a single African American during,

or for many years and decades,

after World w*r II.

♪

NARRATOR:

It was not until the 1990s,

that the US Army would acknowledge

that some Black soldiers

were unjustly denied.

(inaudible)

More than 50 years after

the end of the Second World w*r,

President Bill Clinton presents

Baker the Medal of Honor.

Of the seven African American

World w*r II veterans

finally acknowledged,

he is the only one alive

to receive his award.

♪

After the capture of Castle Aghinolfi,

Baker and fellow Black soldiers

of the 370th Infantry Regiment

continue to carry on the fight

in northern Italy.

On April 10th, 1945,

Americans take control

of the city of Massa.

To the east, the main campaign

finally breaks through

and Allied forces liberate the city

of Bologna eleven days later.

After he retreats from the Gothic Line,

Generalleutnant Otto Fretter-Pico

surrenders to Allied troops on April 30th.

DR. LIEB:

The Germans and the Allied

negotiated a separate armistice for Italy,

and this came into effect

on the 2nd of May 1945.

NARRATOR: This is the beginning

of the end for the Third Reich.

Less than a week later,

the w*r in Europe comes to an end

after Germany’s unconditional surrender

is signed and accepted.

But it will take three more years

before President Harry Truman

signs the executive order

that ends official racial segregation

in the American armed forces.

♪