They were among the fiercest American soldiers in WWI. Here's why they were horribly mistreated when [View all]

Trench foot, mustard gas, snipers and giant rats make it difficult to imagine a single day on the Western Front in World War I, let alone 191 days. But that’s exactly how long the men of the 369th Infantry regiment spent on the front lines — more than any other American unit in the war.

Along the way they also suffered more casualties than any other American unit, and earned a rainbow of awards, including the French Croix de Guerre, multiple Distinguished Service Crosses, and, eventually, a Medal of Honor.

You’d think all this would have earned the surviving members of the 369th a hero’s welcome when they came home in 1918. Instead, after a few initial parades, they endured protests and mob violence, and all for one simple reason: they were black.

The story of the 369th, also known as The Harlem Hellfighters, and of the larger African-American experience in WWI, is the subject of an exhibit called “We Return Fighting,” which is currently on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington D.C.

Though black soldiers faced discrimination both at home and abroad, the exhibit chronicles how WWI helped form a new African-American identity that helped pave the way for the civil rights movement of the post-World War II era.

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/harlem-hellfighters-world-war-one-exhibit