became the first African American to hold star rank in the U.S. Untold Stories of the Harlem HellfightersĪfrican-Americans in World War I Doris 'Dorie' Miller, WWII Navy Cross Recipient They were the first Americans awarded the Croix de Guerre, and they were not the only Harlem Hellfighters to win awards 171 of its officers and men received individual medals, and the unit received a Croix de Guerre for taking Sechault. Though wounded, they refused to surrender, fighting on with whatever weapons were at hand. In May 1918, they were defending an isolated lookout post on the Western Front, when they were attacked by a German unit. The extraordinary valor of the 369th earned them fame in Europe and America. Indeed, the 369th was the first Allied unit to reach the Rhine. "My men never retire, they go forward or they die," said Col. The Harlem Hellfighters fought at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood, with a total of 191 days in combat - longer than any other American unit in the war. Pershing assigned the 369th to the 16th Division of the French Army, where they helped repel the German offensive and launched a counteroffensive. regiments to arrive in France for World War I, and among the most highly decorated when it returned, was the 369th Infantry (formerly the 15th Regiment New York Guard), more gallantly known as the "Harlem Hellfighters." The 369th was an all-black regiment under the command of mostly White officers, including commander Colonel William Hayward.
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