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TO SERVE MY COUNTRY, TO SERVE MY RACE
by Brenda L. Moore (New York University Press, 272 pages, $24.95). The story of the only African-American members of the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) to be stationed overseas during World War II is detailed in this account of the historic 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, whose members joined the U.S. Army mainly because they were denied admission to other branches of the military. Relying primarily on interviews with 51 former members of the battalion–who recount their experiences in Europe and show how their military service affected their lives during the years that followed their return to civilian status–Moore illustrates how this determined group, realizing that “the eyes of the world” were on them, welcomed the opportunity to blaze a trail for other African-American women.