Among those remembered during the D-Day commemorations in France is the 320th Antiaircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion. The unit send up tethered silver balloons intended to confound German pilots trying to bomb or strafe exposed Allied troops during the invasion. William G. Dabney, 84, believed to be the only survivor of the unit, received the Legion of Honor on Friday from the French government.

The New York Times recounts the experience of the 320th, the only all-black unit in the D-Day landings. Military policy at the time deemed blacks as basically unfit for combat, and most were relegated to support roles such as cooks and stewards.

Now, of course, the U.S. military is one of the better success stories of integration and advancement based on accomplishment and merit. But this is an interesting look back at how blacks — then Negroes — had to fight for freedom abroad and at home at the same time.