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CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – Since the Revolutionary War, African Americans have played a significant role in the U.S. military.
During World War I, one regiment, the 369th Infantry Regiment, became known as “the best known African American unit of World War I,” according to Edward Mikkelsen Jr., a contributor to blackpast.org.
The 369th was a regiment from the 15th New York National Guard, originally organized in 1916 and manned by black enlisted soldiers - with both black and white officers.
They prepared for a deployment to Europe and arrived December 1917. In the spring of 1918, they were assigned to the French army for the duration of the war.
“They didn’t see combat action right off the bat. They were given other duties like cleaning up,” said Dublin, Ga., native, Spc. Joshua Harvey, the chaplain assistant for the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. “They finally saw action when they got transferred to the French.”
They earned the nickname “Harlem Hellfighters” by the German army who were surprised to see a regiment, made of entirely black soldiers, fight so well.
The Hellfighters spent 191 days in frontline trenches - more than any other American unit.
“There was often nothing between the German army and Paris but these black volunteers from New York,” Frank Martin wrote in the article, “For Love of Liberty” - an article explaining the history of the Harlem Hellfighters. “During that time, they never had any men captured nor any ground taken.”
Although no man was captured, approximately 1,500 soldiers were wounded and replaced by only 900 men.
“Not many people know this, but in this regiment at the end of World War I they had around 1,500 casualties, and 177 got awarded the Legion of Honor,” said Harvey.
The “New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Military History” believes that the Hellfighters are “one of the most under-appreciated contributors to World War I” and “only in France did they receive proper recognition; 500 of its members received the French ‘Croix de Guerre.’”
On Nov. 17, 1918, the 369th made its last advance and nine days later were the first allied unit to reach the banks of the Rhine River.
Two Hellfighters, Cpl. Henry Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts, were the first Americans to be awarded the Croix de Guerre.
The French relieved the regiment Dec. 12, 1918, and returned to the New York Port of Embarkation. They were demobilized Feb. 28, 1919 at Camp Upton at Yaphank, N.Y.
“To me personally, to serve in the United States Army as an all black regiment that means a lot,” Harvey proudly stated. “Back in those times you didn’t really see black people in the service and for them to be the first black regiment in World War I, I can look up to them and follow in their footsteps.”
The Hellfighters are currently deployed to Mali, providing operational support for Atlas Accord 2012, an annual exercise that brings together U.S. Army personnel with African militaries.
Today the Hellfighters are remembered by the 369th Veterans Association, the 369th Historical Association, and mostly by the soldiers of the 369th Sustainment Brigade, still headquartered in Harlem.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2012 02:26 |
| Story ID: | 84372 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Hometown: | DUBLIN, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 163 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Hellfighters spirit still lives in soldier today, by SGT Bailey Kramer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
