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Today is Black History month, and I’d like to take a second to recognize the 369th Infantry Regiment- known as Men of Bronze to French allies and the Harlem Hellfighters to enemy combatants during WWI.
The Hellfighters were one of the few Black regiments to see combat. Although over 350k served during WWI, most were relegated to labor roles as segregation and racism drove most to believe Black people had no place in the military.
Despite barriers and harsh treatment from white soldiers and civilians, Black people continued to enlist hoping their patriotism would contribute to pushing the advancement of civil rights for African Americans.
As one of the few Black regiments to see the frontlines, they also hold the distinguishment of having served the most consecutive days in combat (nearly 200) of all US regiments.
They also suffered more casualties than all other regiments with over 1500 losses.
Their courage and relentlessness earned them fame throughout Europe, so much so they were awarded the Croix de Guerre citation as a unit by the French government — the first Americans ever to receive the honor.
Two of Hellfighters most celebrated soldiers were Needham Roberts and William Henry Johnson. Both fought off over a dozen German soldiers hand-to-hand despite being wounded. Johnson was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism: https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/johnson/
Of course despite heroic achievements overseas, every Black soldier returned home to an unchanged America. As a matter of fact, lynchings actually increased between 1918 and 1919. At least 10 victims were war veterans, and some were lynched while in uniform.
In the end, the Harlem Hellfighters gave the most out of all US regiments during WWI and received almost nothing in return. You can read more about them here: https://www.theroot.com/who-were-the-harlem-hellfighters-1790898837
