By Mike Finney

WOODSIDE — Dante R. Brizill enjoys seeing his students’ faces light up when he teaches them an interesting history lesson during one of his social studies classes at Polytech High School.

That’s his job.

However, both writing and learning have always been a passion for Mr. Brizill, a native of Philadelphia and a New Castle County resident.

Those two lifelong passions are what inspired him to write a series that consists of three books, “Greatness Under Fire,” which tells the powerful stories of little-known Black heroes and the jobs they did during World War II.

“The impetus for me to put my thoughts down in book form was me viewing it as an extension of teaching,” Mr. Brizill said. “Writing is one of my passions, but I always view myself as an educator first and foremost. I connect the two. I see the writing as an extension of educating.”

The first book of his series came out in 2018 and is the story of Dorie Miller, the son of Texas sharecroppers who was one of the first Black heroes of WWII. Mr. Miller was a cook on the USS West Virginia.

During the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Miller, despite not having any training, grabbed one of the anti-aircraft guns and was credited with shooting down anywhere from two to six attacking Japanese airplanes.

The author followed that up with “Red Ball Express,” about a largely African American group of truck drivers who delivered essential supplies to the American armies during a key time period in the war.

“One of the most rewarding things for me was to interview the grandsons of a couple of the men who served in that unit, and the way they spoke of their grandfathers reminded me of mine,” he said.

Mr. Brizill’s latest book release was “Black Women in WWII: Greatness Under Fire.” It came out in December.

This book, partially inspired by the movie “Hidden Figures” about African American women who helped make the American space program a success in the early 1960s, tells the story of Black women and their largely ignored participation in WWII.

“What fire did African American women face in WWII as the title of this book suggests? The fire they faced was resistance to their even being allowed to participate,” Mr. Brizill said. “Black women were usually hired as a last resort when White female and Black male labor was maximized.

“The mainstream media at the time pretty much ignored the role and participation of Black women at home and overseas and almost exclusively focused on White women as evidenced by the iconic ‘Rosie the Riveter’ poster.”

Mr. Brizill said the price they paid was lower pay, often menial work, the night shift and least desirable jobs. Still, they persisted and left a template for their daughters to perfect and follow in the years ahead.

He added that since the release of his third book in the series, the women of the 688th Central Postal Battalion were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

The teacher/author’s interest in telling such incredible stories in part comes from having a pair of big influences in two grandfathers who were war veterans.

One was a marine in WWII (one of the first Black enlistees from Philadelphia) and the other served in the Korean War, where he was missing in action in enemy territory in North Korea with his unit for a time but eventually made it out safely.

Mr. Brizill, a graduate of Christiana High School in Newark who received his Master’s of Arts in Teaching degree from Wesley College, said it’s hard to pick out a favorite book, but he always goes back to his first one – the story of Mr. Miller.

“Each one of the books’ stories have captured me in some way,” he said. “They all have a cast of characters who were real-life people that rose above and beyond the limits placed on them.

“The first book on Doris ‘Dorie’ Miller, will probably be my first love, because it opened me up to even more stories of unsung heroes, and Mr. Miller continues to make news to this day, with the recent announcement shortly after the book was released that the U.S. Navy will build an aircraft carrier in his honor.”

Mr. Brizill says the encouragement and support he has gotten from his students over the years makes it all worthwhile.

“Those that have shown interest in the books think it’s pretty cool,” he said. “They send me positive vibes and do predict great things once the writing really takes off. They have been some of my biggest cheerleaders.”

Mr. Brizill was also humbled when his eighth-grade social studies teacher called him over to sign his books for him and his wife, who was his high school nurse.

He said he developed his interest in history because he was a huge reader as a child and an avid consumer of news and historical documentaries.

“Most adults at the time had encyclopedia sets in their homes, and I would devour those things,” he said, with a laugh. “Particularly the historical topics. Secondly, I had some really good teachers at all levels that confirmed my passion in history.”

With his “Greatness Under Fire” series, Mr. Brizill, a married father of two daughters, has managed to bring all his life interests together.

“I designed the books as a resource for teachers, parents and students as a way to enrich the curriculum and to bring to light the stories of those that have been left out,” he said. “I have found that the stories are universal and unifying, which was one of my goals. I have gotten so much positive feedback from people of all ages, races and backgrounds.

“Particularly the feedback from our veterans and men and women in uniform have really been encouraging. A high-ranking officer stationed overseas connected with me recently after reading the books and had some really positive feedback.

“I have found that many adults I have encountered have expressed gratitude and regret that they weren’t taught about many of these people.”

Mr. Brizill takes great pride in bringing those mostly unknown stories to life.

He is a self-published author, though his books can be ordered on Amazon.com and they are also available at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

As for future projects, he said his next book subject remains unknown.

“There are a few people I am currently looking into whose stories are not widely known,” he said. “My focus is on WWII at the moment, so there are some extraordinary people to choose from. By this summer I will finalize that.”