And Then We Heard the Thunder

by John Oliver Killens, Mel Watkins (Introduction)

And Then We Heard the Thunder follows the dreams, lies, and anguish of black World War II GI Solomon Sanders during his tour of duty in Indochina, Australia, and the United States. Harvard-trained in the law and a political moderate, Sanders is married to an upper-middle-class black woman who pushes him to "make something of himself" by becoming an Army officer. Given his credentials, he appears a shoo-in for Officer Candidate School, yet he rejects the opportunity as the vestiges of Jim Crow racism, the strains of war, and his interactions with disgruntled black troops thrust him into black activism. Forced to make common cause with his race rather than with the Army, he and some fellow soldiers write a letter to American newspapers about the poor treatment of blacks in the military. For this outcry, they encounter harassment and further discrimination, resulting in a full-scale battle between black and white troops and a blood-curdling climax to this second novel by acclaimed African American author John Killens.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, African American, Literature, World War II

512 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1983

Reviews

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Double V V Started by Negro newspaper Pittsburg, PA, Courier, as a victory symbol in support of Negro soldiers serving in WWII to mean victory of Fascism worldwide and equality for Negroes in the United States.

The American Army is based on Herrenvolk where one ethnic group dominates the others regardless of ability.

Any old fool knows that colored people join the service and white folks join the Army

"The Darktown Strutters' Ball" a tune played for Negro troops going off to war as opposed to "God Bless America" for white troops.

"White Yankee say that black Yankee have tail tucked down in breeches." a statement of Filipino woman to Solly Sanders when asking him to prove whether it was true.

Above are some things brought up in this novel that I almost, consider as a sequel to Killens' novel "Youngblood", which was set in Jim Crow-era Georgia and the difficulties of blacks living under that oppressive system. "And Then We Heard the Thunder" chronicles the military life of New York City law student and newlywed Solomon 'Solly' Sanders as a conscript into the democratic Army of the United States. The story begins with the swearing in of the conscripts and basic training in Ebbensvile, GA, a Jim Crow segregated rural town. It is a story of personalities that make up the predominately Negro unit and the white officers, mainly Southerners who commanded them. At the time and until the end of WWII, the United States was running two armies --- one black, one white, with different sets of expectations and outcomes.

Here are some of the attitudes that were exhibited by the black GIs: I don't want to be in the Army (period), so I am going AWOL; the fight against fascism has nothing to do with me, Negroes have enough problems in the USA; I plan to brown-nose my way to white officers to rise the the ranks as fast as I can; I am going to complain (to myself) about the racism in the Army and the attitudes of its white Southern commanders; I am going to be the best soldier that I can be get out of the Army and back to civilian life; I plan to use the Army for my personal advancement; its a worldwide race war against people of color, in this case, the Japanese.

The book begins with enlistment; the movement of Northern blacks who enjoyed different freedom to the restrictions of Georgia to parts of California; to the assignment of the types of roles blacks were given once in the military; the different types of discipline and the racial prejudices that were carried overseas to the Philippine Islands and Australia.

This was a good book in explaining participation in WWII, especially from the black soldiers' POV. In the period that it was written, very few books were written about the black GI experiences in the Pacific or Europe. When this book was published the VietNam War was well underway and black people, even those veterans who lived in the South, still saw their Constitutional rights denied.

All the characters were depictions of how many black men felt about military service to a country that did not give them equal opportunities and contributed to their reluctance to serve. The memories of WWI are still strong and the author may have stories about those blacks that served in Europe and the disrespect that they received from their white fellow countrymen.

My main complaint was his depictions of combat. I felt that they were realistic, but the writing style of conveying them had me skipping over the sounds of gunfire, bombs and flamethrowers. The book could have been shortened with the elimination of Tat Tat Yak Yak sounds. As a reader, I would have gotten his drift without. This book is about what man's attempt to find himself and maintain his manhood under fire from an enemy who did not see his color, but his uniform and, from a government, his own, that allowed Jim Crow rules in the military in the foreign lands.

My father served in the Pacific Theater in WWII. Some of the things mentioned in this book, he also mentioned and he was not happy. He was his company's clerk, just as Solly Sanders started his service in the military. My Father was also from Georgia, a state that grandparents decided to leave as they had three sons and lynching, etc. was still common. Sometimes, in seeing documentaries and movies of WWII, it was if the black servicemen were not there and any service to country was marginalized. On a very ironic point, a neighbor was listed in Cornelius Ryan's book "The Longest Day." I was shocked. I did not know any black men participated, if watch the movie.

President Harry Truman ordered the Armed Forces of United States integrated after WWII.

[Theophilus (Theo) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't do better than the review on the title link. I read this while on active duty in the United States Air Force as a young NCO stationed in middle Georgia in the mid 1970s. I still vividly remember my feelings as I read this, the feeling of kinship I felt with the characters in Killen's story and the closeness I felt with other blacks in the military as the Vietnam war ended and I reflected on my own experiences overseas and in the South in the U.S.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book is sometimes sloppily written (some jarring POV shifts, some less than lucid description, and one or two overwritten scenes), at other points it shines with emotion and intelligence. I'm starting to see a pattern with postwar Afro American literature: capable, sensitive protagonist confronts a very realistic hell within a revisioned history. The results are chilling and appropriate to what would become called the black aesthetic. Killens' greatest achievement, in my mind, is playing out in dramatic action and dialogue that variegated tensions occasioned by the racial history of the U.S.

[Dylan Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is incredibly misogynistic and an honest pain to get through. The dialogue in here is so disconnected from reality it's hard to take any character seriously. If you somehow find a copy of this book, don't bother.

[Reianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The world is waking up again.

And we poor bastards sit here crying."

Those lines will haunt me as long as I live.

[David McAuliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Must Read

Excellent read for anyone interested in what was happening during this era of segregation. Very well depicted and provides a little more then a birds eye view.

[Vladimír Žák · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fighting on two fronts was really hard.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hungarian translation used a rather annoying lingo.

[Bill King]

Enjoyed reading this book but was a little disappointed with the ending.