Liberia in World War II
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Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
did not become militarily involved in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
until January 1944, with the election of
William Tubman William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (29 November 1895 – 23 July 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th president of Liberia and the longest-serving president in the country's history, serving from 1943 Liberian general election, his e ...
, at which time the country declared war on
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and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. However, even before the start of Liberia's official military involvement, the nation participated in the war for two years under the terms of a Defense Agreement with the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Apart from
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
(present day
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
) and the
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
, Liberia possessed one of the few remaining sources of rubber for the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
. To guarantee a steady supply of rubber from the world's largest rubber plantation, operated at Harbel by the Firestone Company since 1926, the US government built roads throughout the country, created an international airport (known as Robertsfield Airport), and transformed the capital,
Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
, by building a deep water port (the
Freeport of Monrovia The Freeport of Monrovia is the main commercial port facility in the West African nation of Liberia. It was artificially created on Bushrod Island near Monrovia in 1948. The facility contains four piers and one main wharf with four berths. The po ...
). In early 1942 the Liberian Government granted the U.S. the right to "construct, control, operate, and defend such commercial and military airfields as might be deemed necessary by mutual agreement." Therefore an advance U.S. Army construction force arrived in June 1942. It was tasked to prepare installations and defend them pending the arrival of the full force. The advance force was made up of the 41st Engineer General Service Regiment (less the 2d Battalion), Company A, 812th Engineer Aviation Battalion (later redesignated the 899th Engineer Aviation Company), the 802d Coast Artillery Battery, and an advance detachment of the 25th Station Hospital. The eventual full deployment of the 25th Station Hospital Unit represented the first
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
medical unit to be sent overseas. A detachment was dispatched to
Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
to train the Liberian Frontier Force. The 1st Battalion, 367th Infantry Regiment was also earmarked for Liberia. After being on and off alerts since April 1942, the unit, now reorganised as a separate battalion, arrived in the country on 10 March 1943. It principally guarded supplied and Robertsfield. But after 10 months in Liberia the battalion was sent to
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
in
French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...
to guard airbases. The
99th Pursuit Squadron The 99th Flying Training Squadron (99 FTS) flies Raytheon T-1 Jayhawks and they have painted the tails of their aircraft red in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame, known as the "Red Tails," whose lineage the 99 FTS inherited. The ...
was also earmarked for Liberia but its deployment there was cancelled when after January 1943 the need for air defence there had dissipated with the threat from Vichy and the Axis removed. (Employment of Negro Troops, 452) Eventually the 802nd Coastal Artillery Battery was disbanded in Liberia; instructors for the Liberia Guard Force and hospital and service troops remained, as
Robertsfield Roberts International Airport , informally also known as ''Robertsfield'', is an international airport in the West African nation of Liberia. Located near the town of Harbel in Margibi County, the single runway airport is about outside of ...
remained useful to the Air Transport Command until the end of the war. (Employment of Negro Troops, 622). U.S. Army Forces in Liberia came under the command of Brigadier General Percy L. Sadler; there were some instances of conflict between the U.S. troops, almost entirely Black, and the Liberian population.The Minister in Liberia (Walton) to the Secretary of State, No. 116, Monrovia, June 9, 1943. Received June 23. "alleged reprehensible conduct on the part of American soldiers toward Liberian citizens residing outside the designated military area, which protests were brought by the American Minister to the attention of the Commanding General of USAFIL."
United States State Department. In 1944, with its entry into the war, Liberia adopted the
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and became one of only four countries in Africa to join the newly formed
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. The Africa-Middle East Theater of Operations was "established on March 1, 1945, was mainly concerned with the liquidation of the Army's property holdings and other interests in Africa, Palestine, and the Persian Gulf area. The North African installations of the Mediterranean Theater and its base commands at Casablanca were transferred to the new Theater in March 1945; the United States Army Forces in Liberia were transferred to it in April 1945." "The United States Army Forces in Liberia were subsequently under the North African Service Command, which was the former Mediterranean Base Section, at Casablanca. By 1946 all
he Town Commands He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
except the agency at Casablanca were discontinued." U.S. Army Forces in Liberia was inactivated on 28 February 1946.


See also

* Liberia in World War I


References

* * * *Sherman, Frank. ''Liberia: The Land, Its People, History and Culture.'' Intercontinental Books, 2010. {{World War II history by nation, state=collapsed 1940s in Liberia Military history of Liberia Wars involving Liberia World War II by country Africa in World War II