Lasting valor

Most Americans didn't learn of the heroism of these men, the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, until January 13, 1997. In the East Room of the White House President Bill Clinton, on behalf of a grateful nation, gave belated recognition to six men long dead and one tearful survivor of 77. This is the survivor's story. It centers on April 5, 1945, during the battle for Castle Aghinolfi in northern Italy. Vernon Baker knew he was being deserted when his white company commander announced he was going for reinforcements. Although Lieutenant Baker and his men were caught three miles behind enemy lines, and half of their comrades were dead, they did not turn and run. Part of the last segregated outfit to go to war for the United States, they knew they already had done the impossible - and were fiercely proud to keep going. The worst was yet to come. Lasting Valor tells, for the first time, of the life of the black World War II infantryman. Vernon Baker eloquently portrays the hell of war, the difficulties of black soldiers serving under white Southern commanders, the agony of watching the men you love shredded by enemy fire. It tells, through Vernon Baker's eyes and heart, of his struggles with a rocky adolescence, his life in Father Flanagan's Boys Home, his experiences as a shoeshine boy and railroad porter, and his fight to join a segregated Army. Lasting Valor is a story about love, heartbreak, racism and rediscovery; super-human triumph and a man finally recognized for his unfailing determination to put honor and country above all.