“The colored people have repeatedly proved their devotion to the high ideals of our country. They gave their services in the war with the same patriotism and readiness that other citizens did. The records of the selective draft show that somewhat more than 2,250,000 colored men were registered. The records further prove that, far from seeking to avoid participation in the national defense, they showed that they wished to enlist before the selective service act was put into operation, and they did not attempt to evade that act afterwards.”American involvement in that European calamity remains controversial to this day. Personally, I regard it as one of the two greatest foreign policy blunders since the dawn of the 20th century (the other being the Iraq War of 2003). However, one can oppose the decisions of politicians and still admire the battlefield valor of those who carried them out.
When Woodrow Wilson and the Congress committed America to the war in April 1917, the country’s black citizens could rightfully ask (and some did), “What’s in it for us?” Wilson said America must “make the world safe for democracy” but right here at home, democracy was all too often denied to blacks. Wilson himself regarded them as second-class citizens. He promoted segregation throughout the federal government and turned a blind eye to discrimination by state and local governments.
Nonetheless, African Americans went to war, many of them hoping they might defeat both Germans abroad and racism at home if they proved themselves in battle. Coolidge’s high praise was richly earned, and no contingent of African Americans deserved it more than the US Army’s 369th Infantry, a volunteer regiment known as the Harlem Hellfighters.
Formed from a New York National Guard unit, the men of the 369th learned basic military practices at Camp Whitman, New York, before being sent to Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for combat training. They weren’t welcomed by many of the locals there, and some were subjected to discrimination and vile epithets for no more reason than their color. In December 1917, they were shipped to France where they expected to see action on the front lines.
Their high spirits were quickly dashed when it became apparent the Army didn’t want to deploy them for anything other than manual labor, far from the fighting. Even the rifles they brought with them were confiscated by U.S. Army officials.
The commander of the American Expeditionary Force, Gen. John J. Pershing, was reluctant to commit any U.S. troops to the front until he felt he had assembled them in sufficient numbers to ensure victory. The French, meanwhile, were desperate for manpower. Finally bowing to French pressure, Pershing gave them the 369th. While some regarded black troops as expendable, they ultimately proved themselves indispensable.
Consider this amazing record of the Harlem Hellfighters: No American unit experienced more time in combat than they did—no less than 191 days under fire. They never lost an inch of ground. The enemy never captured a single of their number. They suffered the highest casualty rate of any U.S. regiment. None deserted. The grateful French bestowed their highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre, upon the entire regiment. Many individuals of the regiment received the U.S. Army’s second-highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross. Posthumously, Henry Johnson received America’s Medal of Honor in 2015. The 369th ended up as the most decorated U.S. regiment of the war.
