CONWAY (WBTW) – Michael Moore from New Jersey made his first trip here this weekend, and said he was honored to see his father’s long-ago words scrawled on the wall of the Horry County museum.

“At this time (of the letter), I was born but he had never seen me,” said Moore as he gazed at the words from 70 years ago.

The letter from 2nd Lt. Spencer Moore to his parents came after he and his comrades in the all-black 92nd Infantry Division had spent 84 days on the front lines of the fight against Axis powers in Italy.

“Think about that (the 84 days) in today’s terms,” said the younger Moore on Thursday. “That’s kind of idiotic, isn’t it? You burn people out so they can’t function, only because of, basically, the color of their skin.”

Moore said there were no white replacements for the black infantry men, in a cruel double-standard in the great war.

“It was acceptable because it was something they were used to,” he said.

Dr. Maggi Moorehouse, a history professor at Coastal Carolina University, came across many stories just like the elder Moore’s when she began interviewing black World War II veterans years ago. She has interviewed 55 veterans, and represents them and their families by sharing their stories in textbooks, presentations, and now as part of the university’s exhibit at the museum, entitled “War on Two Fronts.”

“While it was trite to say (black soldiers) were treated as second-class citizens, if I say that many of them were refused service, in the south, while they were in uniform, it’s such a different world than it is now,” said Dr. Moorehouse.

Her students poured over her interviews and texts, and pulled excerpts and highlights that CCU graphic arts students and other student workers from Atheneum Press to display on the walls and in videos that will play in the exhibit that opened Thursday.

“They picked out something that was different and resonated with them differently,” said Dr. Moorehouse. “That’s the legacy and power that’s going to continue.”

Senior history major Steven Sargent said the opportunity to create an exhibit is unique and powerful in its own right.

“This is really unknown history to the masses,” said Sargent. “We’re very fortunate. We had so many primary sources we got to work with and tell a story.”

The Horry County Museum is open 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (except Saturday, May 23).

The CCU exhibit will be up until August.