The 369th Infantry in WWI

The topic that I picked from a hat-thingy was the 369th Infantry. I had one of the last picks, so it is a miracle I received a great topic like this one. While researching, I had a hard time finding a lot of specific information about the Infantry, but with perseverance and the help from Mrs. Lawson, I finally found the information to write a six-paragraph essay! The story of the 369th Infantry is an untold classic which should definitely be made into a movie!!!!!

The 369th Infantry getting there picture taken!!!

The first thing I wanted to know is how this ^ group of African American soldiers were any different form the other 2,000,000 African American soldiers that signed up to fight in WWI. Boy, was I in for a surprise, but I will go into that later. One thing that was true for black soldiers throughout WWI was discrimination. In camps that trained the soldiers, many black soldiers were beaten, like Noble Sissle, who would later become a member of the 369th Infantry and later appear on Broadway!! WOW!!! Another bad time for African American soldiers was when racial tensions rose in Houston, Texas. A group of black soldiers fired on whites after receiving harsh racism. After the tragedy, 17 people died and 64 members of the soldiers were court-martialled. I found it quite interesting that even though the Jim Crow era was over, African Americans could not escape racism anywhere in the US.

In my research, I found that African Americans were not allowed to join the Marines, Coast Guard, or Air Force. They were allowed to join the Navy, but only as mess men. I found this here. If you have clicked on the link and scrolled down, you will find that there was actually a propaganda poster recruiting black men to join the Navy. How many mess men do you need??? I find it crazy that at this time our country was known as the free world and yet we did not allowed some of our own citizens to fight with us. That is mind-blowing to me. Luckily, African Americans were able to fight in the Army and do their part in ending the war in Europe. What I found was that instead of being able to fight alongside there fellow Americans, African American soldiers were sent to fight with the French on the western front. In France, my main men, the 369th Infantry strutted their stuff and showed the world that black men were just as well-trained and qualified to fight in the army.

This was the 369th Infantry insignia

When I read what the 369th Infantry did on the battlefield,  I was shocked that they were humans and not super heroes. While in France, the Infantry never lost one foot of ground AND no members were ever captured!!! This statistic alone would only be heard in a movie, but I promise it is true. The website in the purple letters will tell you all about some of the "Black Rattlers" accomplishments. These soldiers were the first black regiment in WWI, but fought better than any other regiment the US had to offer. When I heard that they were the first Allies to push to the Rhine River, I nearly passed out. If you are still somehow reading this, pinch me because I must be dreaming how these men overcame adversity and still were incredible fighters!!! Just to give a  summary to the feeble-minded, they were discriminated against, went to France, kicked butt. These soldiers were the McCoy (not in relation to the popular youtube video) of toughness and resilience.

Sergeant Henry Johnson in all his glory 

When researching my topic, I found an amazing story that I had to tell all of my readers about. This is for you guys. It was a normal day in the trenches with Sergeant Henry John (^up there^) and private Needham Roberts patrolling the area. All of a sudden, twenty Germans had ambushed them and they were at risk of losing their record of not losing a foot of ground and never being captured. Johnson knew the risk and immediately fired all of his bullets at the attacking forces. When he ran out of bullets, the Germans were still there and were capturing Needham Roberts. Immediately, Johnson freed his fellow troop by using his gun as a baseball bat and with hand-to-hand combat, killed five Germans and sent the rest running. This became known as the Battle of Henry Johnson. On AVL, I found on the smiley face :) that sergeant Johnson, now deceased, would be receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in WWI. It took a long time, but finally the US had realized the true greatness of the 369th Infantry's sergeant and troops. 

A parade for the returning Harlem Hellfighters 

The French had given every member of the 369th Infantry the Croix de Guerre, for gallantry under fire. This was the first time an American had received this award. What is so incredible in my findings is that this is the first time I have ever heard of the 369th Infantry. It seems like they should go down in history as the US's greatest fighters, but maybe because of race this is not so well-known. I found in an old New York newspaper here that all of the soldiers were nationally recognized for receiving the Croix de Guerre. It is the least that they could do for such great soldiers. One crazy fact hat I found is that the "Harlem Hellfighters" were credited with being the first people to introduce jazz to Europe!! If your jaw is not dropped right now then you need a reality check because these men are not human. This website over here goes into further detail of there jazz group. This topic was so informative and really opened my eyes up to racism in the 20th century. These men did what heroic acts on a daily basis and helped end WWI. It is amazing how before their awards, they were an old regiment that the US did not want to fight with.

The 369th Infantry's jazz band

Book Source:

9780517550724 - A pictorial history of Black Americans by Langston Hughes