There were 400,000 African Americans who were drafted into WW1. They not only had to suffer the brutality of war. They had to also suffer discrimination, segregated units, they were usually always under a white officer. Even with all these things going against them many of them fought with distinction. Ex: 92nd and 93rd Infantry fought in bitter battles along the Western Front many of them won praise from there commander. The U.S still tried to prevent putting them in combat out of all the African Americans who served on 42,000 served in combat. Often times they were placed as cooks, laborers, and laundrymen. The French on the other hand assigned then to the frontline trenches almost immediately. They won the nickname Harlem "Hell-Fighters," all the 369th was awarded the "war cross" for gallantry in combat. They served 191 days in the trenches, much longer than many other units, and suffered 1,500 casualties. So war was brutal.
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| African Americans in WW1 |