Black Jack Pershing: Love and War

Overview

"Black Jack Pershing: Love and War" chronicles the historic life of WWI General John J. Pershing. Pershing's U.S. troops overcame a better trained and equipped German Army to help the Allies win World War I. America's success in the Great War turned our nation into a global superpower. To do that, Pershing had to overcome personal tragedy and heartbreak that may have given him the extraordinary strength to command U.S. troops in WWI. Relying on extensive personal letters, photos, films, and diaries from Pershing's life, this documentary covers his arduous childhood days in Missouri, his West Point military training, his time as a U.S. Cavalry officer who commanded black soldiers and Native American scouts, Pershing's search with 10,000 U.S. troops for Mexican revolutionary General Pancho Villa and Pershing's rise to become America's only active-duty six-star general as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI. Written by Bernard McCoy