Against All Odds -- Review of DVD PROUD

I came across a DVD just recently which tells a story I had never heard before, though I thought I knew quite a bit about World War II history. I bought it primarily because of its star, Ossie Davis, one of my favorite actors. The movie is called Proud.

It's the story of three African American friends: Lorenzo DuFau, James Graham, and Gordon Buchanan and what they and their fellow crewmates on the USS Mason, a DDE, one of only two US Navy warships in World War II crewed by Blacks, accomplish.

The story begins in a time most of us don't really want to think about. It was the 1930's and early 1940's. Blacks were either simply treated as nonentities or lived in fear for their lives.

The military offered one option at least. The male African American could get a steady paycheck. At that time, since everyone (Whites) knew African Americans were incapable of handling intricate equipment such as Sonar, and certainly couldn't be trusted to fire a warship's guns - they might sink their own ship for Heaven's sakes; they were generally relegated to serving as stewards, stevedores or in other servant-type capacities.

Then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and, despite President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's best efforts, the United States went to war with too little of everything, including manpower. The decision was made: "Get more Blacks into the military." Although they were good for little, they could at least make more White men available for the important tasks of war.

Somehow, however, someone thought correctly. It was decided to crew a warship entirely with Blacks - except for the officers, of course. DuFau, Graham and Buchanan were assigned and the story goes on from there.

One of my favorite parts is a comment made by one of the three following their first visit to Northern Ireland. I can't remember exactly how the comment goes but essentially, he says that it was really something that he had to come so far to be treated as an American.

Just to mention one event: during what was termed the worst Atlantic storm in the century, the Mason's deck splits and the crew repairs it - at sea - with no outside help and successfully completes its mission to escort convoy ships into harbor. They were the only combat vessel to do so.

I could easily continue this for pages, but suffice it to say that this movie is based on fact and tells the story of how the Mason's crew actually fought two enemies, the Nazis and the prejudice they faced at home. Although the second battle took far longer, in the end they won that as well. It's a good movie and well worth the money and the time.

SOURCES: http://www.proudthemovie.com/; http://www.ussmason.org/;