Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America's First Black Paratroopers

They became America's first black paratroopers. Why was their story never told? Sibert Medalist Tanya Lee Stone reveals the history of the Triple Nickles during World War II.

World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military. Enlisted black men are segregated from white soldiers and regularly relegated to service duties. At Fort Benning, Georgia, First Sergeant Walter Morris's men serve as guards at The Parachute School, while the white soldiers prepare to be paratroopers. Morris knows that for his men to be treated like soldiers, they have to train and act like them, but would the military elite and politicians recognize the potential of these men as well as their passion for serving their country? Tanya Lee Stone examines the role of African Americans in the military through the history of the Triple Nickles, America's first black paratroopers, who fought in a little-known attack on the American West by the Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of Morris, "proved that the color of a man had nothing to do with his ability."

From Courage Has No Color
What did it take to be a paratrooper in World War II? Specialized training, extreme physical fitness, courage, and -- until the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the Triple Nickles) was formed -- white skin. It is 1943. Americans are overseas fighting World War II to help keep the world safe from Adolf Hitler's tyranny, safe from injustice, safe from discrimination. Yet right here at home, people with white skin have rights that people with black skin do not. What is courage? What is strength? Perhaps it is being ready to fight for your nation even when your nation isn't ready to fight for you. Front matter includes a foreword by Ashley Bryan. Back matter includes an author's note, an appendix, a time line, source notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Author: Tanya Lee Stone
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 01/22/2013
Pages: 147
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.90lbs
Size: 10.10h x 9.40w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780763651176
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 8
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 156351 / Courage Has No Color, the True Story of the Triple Nickles: America's First Black Paratroopers


Award: Parents Choice Awards (Spring) (2008-Up) - Recommended
Award: Orbis Pictus Award - Honor Book
Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: Keystone to Reading Book Award - Nominee
Award: Tayshas Reading - Commended
Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Grand Canyon Reader Award - Recommended
Award: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee
Award: William Allen White Childens Book Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2012
Publishers Weekly 11/12/2012
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2013 pg. 265
Shelf Awareness 01/04/2013
School Library Journal 01/01/2013 pg. 134
Booklist 02/01/2013 pg. 58
Horn Book Magazine 01/01/2013 pg. 109
Voice of Youth Advocates 04/01/2013 - Recommended - Better Than Most
PW Best Children's Books 11/11/2013 pg. 30
Kirkus Best Middle Grade Books 11/15/2013 pg. 83
Booklist Ed Choice Youth 01/01/2014 pg. 13
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2013 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Tanya Lee Stone is a former editor and the Robert F. Sibert Award-winning author of Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. This new book was seven years in the making, as she did extensive original research and tracked down archival photos. Tanya Lee Stone lives in Vermont.