Illinois Park Named After National Guard African-American War Hero [Image 1 of 9]

SPRINGFIELD, IL, UNITED STATES

06.22.2021

Photo by Lt. Col. Bradford Leighton 

Joint Force Headquarters - Illinois National Guard Public Affairs

Illinois Army National Guard Col. Maurice Rochelle, the Deputy Chief of the Illinois National Guard Joint Staff, reads the biography of Col. Otis B. Duncan of the Illinois National Guard's famed "Fighting" 8th Infantry Regiment. Duncan was the highest ranking African-American officer to serve overseas during World War I. Because of institutional racism in the U.S. Army during World War I, Duncan and his fellow African-American Soldiers fought under the French. The 8th Infantry, re-designated the 370th Infantry Regiment during the war, was the only African-American combat unit commanded by African-American officers. Duncan was awarded the Purple Heart and the French Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. The Springfield (Illinois) Park District named a park in his honor and cut the ribbon on the re-dedicated park on June 22. Duncan was from a prominent Springfield family and the Col. Otis B. Duncan Park is about a half-mile from the Illinois National Guard headquarters at Camp Lincoln, where Col. Duncan often trained. (U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office.)

• Date Taken: 06.22.2021
• Date Posted: 06.24.2021 00:24
• Photo ID: 6706257
• VIRIN: 210622-A-OH563-424
• Resolution: 3959x3503
• Size: 2.57 MB
• Location: SPRINGFIELD, IL, US