The History Channel Presents HONOR DEFERRED ... They Fought and Died for a Country That Refused to Honor Them

Premieres Saturday, February 11, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and Hosted by Bernie Mac

NEW YORK, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- When the war books were closed at the end of World War II, the Medal of Honor -- the military highest award -- was bestowed on 432 soldiers. But not one was given to any of the more than one million African-Americans who served in that war. It took an internal Army investigation, not launched until 1994, to find out why ... and to eventually right the wrong. More than a half century after the end of World War II, in 1997, seven African-Americans were finally awarded the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony. A special premiering on The History Channel® tells the moving true stories of these brave men and how they were slighted for so long. HONOR DEFERRED, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and hosted by Bernie Mac, premieres Saturday, February 11, 2006 at 8:00 pm ET/PT on The History Channel.

Until World War II, African-Americans in the military were largely relegated to service positions. But when the United States found itself fighting a massive war in both Europe and the South Pacific at the same time, the Armed Forces decided to call African-American units into fighting duty. Even so, the African-American units received meager preparation for duty compared to white soldiers, and fought in segregated units, often commanded by white leaders who treated them poorly. These soldiers served their country valiantly despite facing these challenges but still none received the nation's highest honor.

In 1994, the Army finally took notice and commissioned a research team at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC to look at the situation. Their investigations revealed seven tales of uncommon valor that deserved the award, and blew the lid off a long-standing, high-level conspiracy within the U.S. government to obscure the contributions of African-American soldiers and keep them from public record. HONOR DEFERRED re-creates the stories of the seven African-American Medal of Honor recipients granted the award in 1997 in vivid, full-color detail. The last living member of the group, Vernon J. Baker, tells his emotional story and adds detail to the others, as do family members of the deceased soldiers.

    Among the dramatic real-life stories in HONOR DEFERRED are these:

    * During fighting in Europe, Lieutenant John Fox found himself completely

      surrounded by German forces. He called for U.S. artillery to be fired

      directly on his position, dooming himself to death but taking more than

      100 German soldiers with him.

    * Private George Watson's cargo ship came under unexpected fire by the

      Japanese in New Guinea and sank, stranding more than 150 soldiers, many

      of whom couldn't swim, in the deep waters. Watson helped carry dozens of

      men to safety before he himself drowned from sheer exhaustion.

    * Sergeant Edward Carter was shot several times by German soldiers while

      crossing hundreds of yards of wide-open land in the Rhineland. Despite

      being shot, Carter managed to capture two German soldiers, who he

      brought back to his unit, where they provided valuable information that

      allowed U.S. forces to advance.

    * Lieutenant Charles Thomas's vehicle was hit with artillery fire on a

      scouting mission and badly damaged. Thomas, refused to evacuate the area

      until he was sure the other vehicles in his unit could return fire. He

      was killed, but his efforts saved the lives of many others.

    * After performing a valuable scouting mission, Private Willie James was

      shot and killed trying to rescue his commander from German sniper fire.

    * In France, Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers pressed on for three days on a

      leg injured by a land mine and badly infected.  He refused orders to

      return to an aid station, and died covering the escape of others in his

      tank unit in France.

    * Vernon Baker is the only black soldier still alive today to receive the

      award for service in World War II. After his commander abandoned the

      unit, Baker assumed command and refused to fall back.  He completed an

      impossible mission, and bears sole responsibility for continuing to

      engage the enemy.

Executive Producer for The History Channel is Susan Werbe. HONOR DEFERRED is produced for The History Channel by Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. HONOR DEFERRED is directed and produced by Nick Brigden. Al Roker and Lisa Sharkey are executive producers.

Now reaching more than 88 million Nielsen subscribers, The History Channel®, "Where the Past Comes Alive®," brings history to life in a powerful manner and provides an inviting place where people experience history personally and connect their own lives to the great lives and events of the past. In 2004, The History Channel earned five News and Documentary Emmy® Awards and previously received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's "Save Our History®" campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel web site is located at http://www.History.com.

Formed in 1994, Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. (ARE) is a thriving multimedia company involved in the development and production of network, cable, home video, and public television projects. ARE produces programming for a diverse clientele including NBC News, Lifetime Television, A&E, The History Channel, Discovery Networks, PBS, TV ONE, Oxygen and NBC Television Stations Group. Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. clients include real estate superstar Barbara Corcoran, fitness guru Jorge Cruise, model/actor Tyson Beckford, celebrity dog trainer and handler Tamar Geller, designer Elaine Griffin, and the Wilhelmina Model agency.

Source: The History Channel