In Touch: With The Red Ball Express

By Betty Miller Buttram
FWIS Contributing Writer

In the June 9, 2022, issue of the FWIS, there was an article written about WWII African American soldiers. A visit to the WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana inspired me to write that article. At this museum, I came upon additional history about our Black men and the often-unmentioned participation of the dedicated African American drivers of the Red Ball Express.

The term “Red Ball” originated around 1892 to describe the shipping of priority freight and perishables on the Santa Fe Railroad. These trains and the tracks were marked with red balls that cleared the way for the trains to reach their designated stops.

The need for such a priority transport service during World War II arose in the European Theater following the successful Allied invasion at Normandy in June 1944. Normandy is a region of northern France. Its varied coastline includes white-chalk cliffs and WWII beaches including the Omaha Beach site of the famous D-Day Landing of June 6, 1944. To obstruct the German army’s ability to move forces and bring up reinforcements in a counterattack, the Allies had preemptively bombed the French railway system into ruins in the weeks leading up to the D-Day landing.

At the time of the landing, traditional French ports were mostly inoperable and, after supporting the troops of the Allied invasion, the Normandy beaches needed to then become the makeshift port that would supply the march toward Germany. Some 28 Allied divisions needed constant resupply. During offensive operations, each division consumed about 750 tons of supplies per day (about one hundred pounds per man) totaling about 21,000 tons in all. The only way to deliver supplies was by truck.

The general idea of the military generals during WWII was that the Black soldier was not as capable in combat as the rest of the troops. Therefore, Black soldiers were routinely assigned jobs in the mess hall, the laundry, the motor pool and as drivers. There already existed 132 military trucking operations combined into a truck force composed primarily of 2.5-ton GMC “Jimmy’s” and 1.5-ton Dodges. After 36 hours of a brainstorming planning session, the Red Ball Express was created to supply the America combat units that were pushing the Germans back to their homeland. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the trucking convoy, the Red Ball Express, were of African American descent.

At its peak, the Red Ball Express operated approximately 6,000 vehicles and carried about 12,500 tons of supplies per day. There were two drivers for every truck who drove those GMC “Jimmy’s and 1.5-ton Dodges. The Dodge trucks had a reputation for reliability. The GMCs were prone to breakdown but were available in greater numbers. To keep supplies flowing without delay, a northern route was used for delivering supplies and a southern route for returning trucks. Both roads were closed to civilian traffic. The most problematic natural enemy of the Red Ball Express was mud. The trucks used 11-inch wheels that could be easily overwhelmed and efforts to escape could burn out transmissions while dried mud could immobilize their brakes. The drivers would drive at speeds no faster than 25 mph through the disciplined and stubborn German army territory. Up to 140 trucks were on the French roads at one time delivering supplies at a 400-mile distance. Night driving had to be done without headlights to avoid being spotted by the enemies. More than 6,000 trucks kept gasoline and other vital supplies rolling in as American troops and tanks pushed the Germans back toward their homeland.

Between August 25, 1944, anthrough November 16, 1944, for a total of 83 days, these Black soldiers drove those trucks to get the necessary supplies to the American troops. By November 1944, the port facilities at Antwerp, Belgium were opened, enough French rail lines were repaired, and portable gasoline pipelines were deployed.

On Memorial Day each year, we pay honor to the fallen by remembering their sacrifices. On Veterans Day, we honored all who fought for this country--the ones deployed in other foreign lands and those who have served or those who are still serving on active duty or as reservists in the U.S. military.

Veterans Day will soon be upon us and there are other forgotten stories or unawareness about our Black men who fought in WWII. In addition to the WWII Museum in New Orleans, and this article, please stay In Touch with FWIS for more upcoming articles about African Americans WWII soldiers to remember and honor them on this upcoming Veterans Day. Informative data will be passed on to you about the African American soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion on the front line as a spearhead for General Patton’s Third Army during the same time as the Red Ball Express. This battalion were known to some during that time of 1944 as the Liberators in the European Theater. Another article will inform you about another group of Black soldiers that liberated a village named Margraten in the Netherlands (Holland) from the Germans who had captured their village.

Why do these stories need to be told? Because they are about us, and we do not need to have our participation in U.S. military history forgotten.

Stay In Touch. Stay awake. Be aware of your Black history.