Welcome back to robinlofton.com for Part II of the African Americans in the Military wiki history podcast!
In Part I, we examined the strong presence of African Americans in every U.S. war since the American Revolution. We also looked at problems of segregation, racial bias, and unequal treatment of Blacks in the military. And I mentioned that this these podcasts are dedicated to Nabvets, which is the National Association of Black Veterans, for their great contribution to improving the lives of Black veterans and their families. Thanks to your help (listening to this podcast series), I have been able to make a good contribution to this organization. But I want to donate more so keep listening because it’s about to get even more interesting. At the end of this podcast, you will learn how to contribute to this organization.
In this podcast, we will discuss African Americans who have distinguished themselves in the armed forces. There are regiments that have served the U.S. with honor and distinction. I have to begin with an apology that I cannot list or discuss every one of them—there are just too many!—but I hope that you will be inspired by the great achievements that you will hear about today. Remember those 3 important words from Part I? Courage, Determination, Honor. These heroes today showed all these qualities and have raised the bar to give us something to strive for.
We will begin with the Harlem Hellfighters.
Is that name familiar? Hopefully, it will be one day because these men have earned the right to be known, remembered, and written into our history books!
The Harlem Hellfighters were an African American regiment (remember the regiments used to be segregated) who fought in World War I. They were one of the few African American combat units (remember again that most Blacks were relegated to service or general labor duties). The Harlem Hellfighters were originally called the 15th New York Colored Regiment. Later, they were called the 369th Infantry unit.
So, what did they do? The Harlem Hellfighters were the longest serving and most decorated unit in World War I. They spent 191 days under enemy fire. Now, that’s courage under fire to an extreme! They are also credited with numerous courageous acts on the battlefield.
What about the name “Harlem Hellfighters”? Former commander, Colonel Reginald Sanders explains: "We did not give ourselves our name [the Harlem Hellfighters]. Our enemies gave us our name, [which] is an honor." The Hellfighters were actually given two different names from the Europeans. The French called them Men of Bronze out of respect. In fact, the French government gave the regiment the prestigious “croix de Guerre” award in 1918. But it was the Germans who gave them the name of “Hellfighters” out of fear for their acts in combat. That’s not surprising since the Hellfighters were cited 11 times for bravery under fire.
While the Europeans showed lots of respect for the Harlem Hellfighters, they didn’t get the same respect back at home. The French gave them the opportunity to fight though it was denied to them by the American army, which had them unloading ships and working as waiters. They had also received their training in South Carolina where they were confronted with racism and race-motivated violence. There were numerous standoffs between the Hellfighters and the white residents who resented the increased presence of Blacks in their town.
And, following the end of the war, the Hellfighters returned home to what was called the Red Summer of 1919, which was the worst racial violence in U.S. history and saw a nation racial frenzy of riots, massacres, and lynchings throughout the North and South, all were started by whites who were angry about Blacks serving in the military and getting better jobs while whites were away at war. No, that was definitely not the welcome that the Hellfighters deserved after serving their country so courageously.
Martin Miller, who was 16 when he joined the Harlem Hellfighters, recalled arriving in Europe and beginning the fight: “That day, the sun was shining, and we were marching. And the band was playing," Miller told an interviewer for the 1977 documentary Men of Bronze. "Everybody's head [was] high, and we were all proud to be Americans, proud to be black, and proud to be in the 15th New York Infantry."
Moving on to another African American regiment that made history and served with honor and distinction. And made us proud, too.
The name might be familiar from the iconic Bob Marley song. But how much do we know about the Buffalo soldiers? Well, now’s the time to learn a bit more.
The Buffalo soldiers were formed in 1866 by an act of Congress. They were actually a group of units: 6 army units, 2 cavalry (the famous 9th & 10th cavalries) and 4 infantry units.
They were charged with protecting the settlers that moved to the western states and supporting westward expansion by building infrastructure for the settlers and government. They rebuilt towns, escorted wagon trains and stagecoaches through hostile territory, and fought in the Spanish-American war and both World Wars. However, in the U.S., the Buffalo soldiers could serve only west of the Mississippi River because of prevailing and persistent attitudes about Blacks following the American Civil War. But they had a very strong presence everywhere that they served.
How did the Buffalo soldiers get their name? Great question. There are a few theories that I’ll mention but you will have to decide for yourself. And, by the way, I would love to hear your theory so send me a note/message on robinlofton.com.
1. The soldiers’ curly hair reminded the Native Americans of buffalo fur.
2. The soldiers’ fierce and brave nature and tenacity as fighters reminded the Native Americans of how buffalos fought.
3. The soldiers’ wore thick mats in the winter made of buffalo hides.
The Buffalo soldiers units were formed during the Indian wars. This was actually a series of around 40 conflicts that decimated the Native American population. There were massacres, destruction of food sources, poisoning of fresh water wells, germ warfare, and large-scale removals. More than 45,000 Native Americans were killed.
Were the Buffalo soldiers involved in this reprehensible behavior? While they did their duties as U.S. soldiers (such as engaging in battle against the Cherokees), there is no record of the Buffalo soldiers engaging in that type of genocidal behavior.
In fact, the Buffalo soldiers had a good relationship with many native American tribes, perhaps from a shared understanding and experiences, based on the racial situation at the time. If you have heard differently, send me a message at robinlofton.com—truth in history is my objective always.
The Buffalo soldiers also faced racism. Reportsshow that these soldiers were frequently subjected to the harshest of discipline, racist officers, race-motivated violence from the European colonists, and poor food, equipment and shelter. White regiments were supplied with silk-embroidered banners but the Buffalo soldiers clothing had to be homemade (remember the buffalo hide theory?) and was tattered and worn.
In spite of this treatment and their deprivations, the morale of these soldiers remained high and their commitment was strong. The Buffalo soldiers had the lowest desertion rate in the army, though their army posts were often in the worst areas in the west.
Some white commanding officers were proud to lead these men and publicly expressed these feelings. But I have to add that this was not the norm. Most white officers didn’t want to command the black soldiers. The famous Colonel Custer, for example, accepted a lower rank rather than lead an African American unit.
In the end, 20 black soldiers received the Medal of Honor, the highest award this country gives for the most outstanding performance under enemy fire. The last Buffalo soldiers regiments (the 27th and 28th cavalry units) were disbanded in 1951.
Great work, guys! You make us proud.
Frederick Douglass said that once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship."
Oh, I wish that we had more time but we are keeping it wiki (meaning quick in the Hawaiian language) so we have to move on to discuss other heroes who have also made us proud.
And there have not only been men who have made us proud—and who were deserving of citizenship and all the rights that it affords. Women were and are doing their part, too. African American women have participated in every war since the Revolutionary War, despite the dual problems of race and gender discrimination. There were only a few Black women regiments because women were not allowed to officially join the army until the early-20th century. But women did participate in several different roles, one might really surprise you.
Women worked as nurses, postal clerks, stenographers, switchboard operators, and typists. They also served as scouts and spies. One famous spy (during the Civil War) was Harriet Tubman (is that name familiar?). She was so impressive and effective that the soldiers called her General Tubman! One woman actually served as a Buffalo soldier in the Indian conflicts. After being freed from a Missouri plantation, Cathay Williams served a support role during the Civil War. The following year (in 1866), she changed her name from Cathay Williams to William Cathay and registered for the Buffalo soldiers where she served for more than two years! She was eventually discovered and forced to leave, but she had served as an important member of one of the elite infantry units as a woman disguised as a man! That’s dedication, commitment, and ingenuity!
In the Spanish-American War, Black women served as nurses and in other support roles. During the height of the yellow fever epidemic, at least 30 so-called Black “immunes” (women who had suffered but survived yellow fever) were recruited as nurses to care for people suffering from the deadly disease. Other nurses were told that they couldn’t catch it because black skin is thicker and therefore protected African Americans from getting the disease. Of course, this was not true and many Black nurses were exposed to and died from yellow fever.
At the outset of World War I, many trained black nurses enrolled in the American Red Cross hoping to gain entry into the Army or Navy Nurse Corps. As the war escalated, public pressure increased to enlist black women. Finally, shortly after the Armistice, 18 black Red Cross nurses were offered Army Nurse Corps assignments. Assigned to Camp Grant, Illinois, and Camp Sherman, Ohio, they lived in segregated quarters and cared for German prisoners of war and black soldiers.
One of these pioneering women, Aileen Cole Stewart, later wrote,The Story of the Negro nurse in World War I is not spectacular. We arrived after the Armistice was signed, which alone was anticlimactic. So we had no opportunity for "service above and beyond the call of duty;" But each one of us...did contribute quietly and with dignity to the idea that justice demands professional equality for all qualified nurses.6
World War II would spawn the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and Major Charity Adams, its first black officer. She commanded the first all-black female unit, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Film-maker Frank Martin who made a documentary about the battalion noted that “Every single piece of mail that went to Europe passed through this postal battalion. Major Adams and her 855-member unit would spend the last year of the war clearing enormous backlogs of mail, first in England and then in France.
By the way, this is a fascinating documentary called “For the Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots.” I will give you more information about that documentary in the next podcast. I think that you’ll absolutely love it.
When President Truman opened the army in 1948, more than 2,000 African American women enrolled in the Cadet Nurse Corps. But the Women’s Army Corps was where most Black women served the war effort, starting in World War II. Many Black women returned to the corps during the Korean and Vietnam wars, serving in nursing and supportive roles because of the ban on women in combative positions.
Starting from the 1990s, things were very different for Black women in the armed forces. Black women are now well represented in today’s military. In Desert Storm, 40 percent of the 35,000 women active operations were African-American. That amounts to 14,000 Black women! And women are in active combat. Black women make up 30 percent of the military. 13 percent of officers are Black women. The military is indeed changing. Yet we should not forget that it has been a long and difficult road for Black women who have chosen a life in the armed forces. And much is still new: it was just in 2013 that the Pentagon lifted its ban on women in front-line combat roles. There is still much work to be done.
I would like to end conclude this section with a quote from Commander Charity Adams Earley, who you might remember led the first African American women’s battalion in World War II. She recently said:
The future of women in the military seems assured.... What may be lost in time is the story of how it happened. The barriers of sex and race were, and sometimes still are, very difficult to overcome, the second even more than the first. During World War II women in the service were often subject to ridicule and disrespect even as they performed satisfactorily.... Each year the number of people who shared the stress of these accomplishments lessens. In another generation young black women who join the military will have scant record of their predecessors who fought on the two fronts of discrimination—segregation and reluctant acceptance by males.8
But we won’t forget. Ever. And I hope that these podcasts help you to remember them and their contributions.
So, that’s all for today. This wiki lecture can’t cover everything about blacks in the military or everyone who served like Dorie Miller, a cook in the Navy who distinguished himself during the attack on Pearl Harbor or the Tuskegee Airmen, the Red Tails who served so courageously in World War II or Sojourner Truth who was a nurse during the civil war or now retired General Colin Powell who has had a long a distinguished career as National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commander of the Army Forces, and Secretary of State. And there are so many more. But we are keeping it wiki here. And I might add that there is one more part to this interesting lecture series.
Part III discusses films about Blacks in the Military. Some of these films are older, others were made more recently. But they definitely bring the Black experience in the military to life. And it gives us a chance to discuss other Black heroes and feel inspired by their stories.
Honor. Courage. Determination.
You will see how they lived these principles and how important they are to everyone.
Please don’t forget that November is the month to remember and honor our veterans. The National Association of Black Veterans works all year long to support and assist black veterans. That’s why I’m giving $1 to the Nabvets for every person that listens to this podcast this month. They have a great website at www.nabvets.org. It’s my honor to show support for them—like they have shown support for our veterans over the years. And shown us honor, courage, and determination.
I hope that you have enjoyed this podcast at robinlofton.com. Please leave your comments, questions, and thoughts. I love to hear from my listeners or anyone who is interested in African American history.
See you next time to review movies about Blacks in the military at robinlofton.com. And a big salute to Jon Knox for making that great music—I just wanted to get up and march!
Hug and veteran today and I’ll see you soon at robinlofton.com.
