AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry attacks Fort Wagner This attack was the second attempt to take the fort Thanks in part to the Fifty-Fourth infantry the attack succeeded 8
AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS Henry Johnson was born in 1892 and died in 1929 Many years after his death he was awarded the Purple Heart in 1996 and the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002 WORLD WAR I After German ships began attacking attacking American vessels at sea in 1917 the United States entered the Great War that had begun in Europe in 1914 The US Congress Congress passed the Selective Service Act which required the creation of draft boards Every male citizen between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one was ordered to register Most African Americans Americans joined the army The marine corps excluded African Americans Americans and although the navy and coast guard allowed them both units assigned African Americans to shovel the coal used to run the boats and to act as messengers When African Americans criticized the rule barring them from combat the War Department organized two black divisions the Ninety-Second and the Ninety-Third The Ninety-Third consisted of National Guard troops from seven states including the 369th from New York 10
A HISTORY OF SERVICE The 369th was the first unit of black combat troops to arrive in France Its soldiers served at the front for a grueling 191 days longer longer than any other unit The night of May 14 1918 Privates Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts heard a muffled clicking sound the enemy with a wire cutter and shouted to the corporal on duty Within minutes a hand grenade exploded near Roberts and Johnson became a one-man army Despite being shot four times Johnson managed to force the German unit to retreat Johnson and Roberts were awarded the Croix de Guerre War Cross They were the first Americans of any color to be given France’s highest honor for bravery on the battlefield The Germans recognized their valor as well nicknaming them the Hellfighters At home the 369th was nicknamed Harlem’s Own IN THE AIR THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN Although African Americans were not allowed to train as pilots during World War I Eugene Jacques Bullard was the first African American to become a fighter pilot in that war He sidestepped this discrimination by serving in the French Air Corps Later as a result of pressure from civil rights activists the first black air corps unit the Ninety-Ninth Pursuit Squadron later called the Ninety-Ninth Fighter Squadron was created in 1941 The black pilots were sent to Tuskegee Institute a black college in Alabama for training Many in the military doubted the program would succeed and nicknamed it the Tuskegee experiment Lieutenant Colonel Noel 11 11
