4. A Return to Europe
Carter was shipped to the European Theater of Operations in 1944. However, with typical Army logic, he was not assigned to one of the black combat units – few as those were in the day’s racially segregated US military – but to supply duties. However, racism had to make way, at least partially, to the dictates of necessity in December of 1944, which allowed Carter yet another opportunity to engage in combat in the front lines against the bad guys. On December 16th, the Germans launched a surprise strategic offensive that caught the Allies off guard. As the ensuing Battle of the Bulge raged and the Army desperately fought to contain the Germans, it ran short of replacement combat troops. So General Dwight D. Eisenhower instituted the volunteer Ground Force Replacement Command, comprised of rear echelon troops of all races.
