| “The Joe Louis (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) versus Max Schmeling (September 28, 1905 – February 2, 2005) rematch, again at Yankee Stadium, took place before a sellout crowd of 70,000. The two boxers’ second meeting carried heavy political significance. Schmeling represented a government that he did not support, but Louis was comfortable taking on the mantle of the American people. “Here I was, a black man,” he would recall. “I had the burden of representing all America. They tell me I was responsible for a lot of change in race relations in America…White Americans — even while some of them still were lynching black people in the South — were depending on me to Knock Out Germany.” The 2nd fight went quickly. Louis pummeled Schmeling in the 1st round and knocked him out. The German went down so quickly that the president of the New York Boxing Commission visited him in the hospital to determine whether he had faked his injuries and thrown the fight. This clearly wasn’t the case. Americans celebrated Louis’s victory with wild abandon. And for Joe Louis, it was a personal and racial redemption. Schmeling returned to Germany, where he served with the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) as a Fallschirmjäger (“Paratrooper”). He participated in the Battle of Crete in May 1941, where he was wounded in his right knee by mortar fire shrapnel during the 1st day of the battle. After recovering, he was dismissed from active service after being deemed medically unfit for duty because of his injury. Nevertheless, in July 1944 a rumor that he had been killed in action made world news. Realizing Louis’s potential for raising esprit de corps among the troops, the Army placed him in its Special Services Division rather than sending him into combat. Louis went on a celebrity tour with other notables, including fellow boxer Sugar Ray Robinson (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989). He traveled more than 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) and staged 96 boxing exhibitions before 2,000,000 soldiers. In England during 1944, he was reported to have signed as a player for Liverpool Football Club as a publicity stunt. In addition to his travels, Louis was the focus of a media recruitment campaign encouraging African American men to enlist in the Armed Services, despite the military’s racial segregation. When he was asked about his decision to enter the racially segregated United States Army, he said: “Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain’t going to fix them.”In 1943, Louis made an appearance in the wartime Hollywood musical “This Is the Army,” directed by Michael Curtiz (December 24, 1886 – April 10, 1962). He appeared as himself in a musical number, “The Well-Dressed Man in Harlem,” which emphasized the importance of African American soldiers and promoted their enlistment. Louis was eventually promoted to the rank of Technical Sergeant on April 9, 1945. On September 23 of the same year, he was awarded the Legion of Merit (a military decoration rarely awarded to enlisted soldiers) for “incalculable contribution to the general morale.” Receipt of the honor qualified him for immediate release from military service on October 1, 1945. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1783.jpg |
| Image Size | 568.31 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3000 x 2362 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 22, 1938 |
| Location | |
| City | New York |
| State or Province | New York |
| Country | United States |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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