The 761st Tank Battalion in France

The WWII nonfiction title will publish in January 2021 to coincide with Black History Month in the US.

ATLANTA - April 9, 2021 - Robert Child of RSC Media Group, LLC announced today that he has signed a deal with Osprey Publishing, a Bloomsbury Publishing Plc division, to write a title about African-American Medal of Honor winners from WWII titled Immortal Valor. The deal was negotiated by Greg Johnson, President of Word Serve Literary.

In 1945, when Congress began reviewing the record of the most conspicuous acts of courage by American soldiers during WWII, they recommended awarding the Medal of Honor to 432 recipients. Of those nominated and despite a total of more than one million African-Americans who served, not a single black soldier received the Medal of Honor. The omission remained on the record for over four decades.

In 1993, the U.S. Army commissioned a research team at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC, to investigate the discrepancy and explore deserving black service members' records. The investigation uncovered seven incidents of uncommon valor that merited the Medal of Honor and, in turn, brought to light long-standing racial discrimination within the government to deny African-Americans their country's highest military honor.

2nd Lt. Vernon Baker received his Medal of Honor in 1997

In 1997, more than half a century after the war, President Clinton finally awarded the Medal of Honor to seven black Americans in a White House ceremony. Immortal Valor will bring their stories to life.

Child commented, "In researching Black military history for my recently released television documentary, Serving for Justice, what became clear is that we need to do justice to the African-American soldiers of World War II and bring their stories to a wider audience."

 

Commissioning Editor Kate Moore from Osprey Publishing said, “I am delighted to have acquired this noteworthy title from Robert Child. It is a remarkable story of ordinary men who performed extraordinary acts of courage and yet were shamefully denied the highest accolade due to the color of their skin. I am proud that we will be able to bring their story to a wider audience with this new book.”

Robert Child is a military history writer, director, and author. Besides his co-authored book, The Lost Eleven (Penguin/Random House) with Denise George, he has self-published nine other nonfiction military history titles and military thrillers over the last eight years. The author has garnered more than 26 writing and directing awards, including an Emmy® nomination, and is one of only a handful of Writer / Directors whose work has screened in the United States Congress.

About Osprey Publishing – an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Plc

Osprey Publishing is the leading publisher of illustrated military history. Now in its 50th year, Osprey has published more than 3,000 titles on a wide range of military history subjects from ancient times to the present day, covering battles, campaigns, uniforms, weapons, equipment, tactics and organization.

For all media queries related to the publication of Immortal Valor, including obtaining review copies, author events, festivals, and book signings, please contact my publicist Rayshma.Arjune@Bloomsbury.com.