History of the American Negro in the Great World War eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 392 pages of information about History of the American Negro in the Great World War.

History of the American Negro in the Great World War eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 392 pages of information about History of the American Negro in the Great World War.

In the rigors of war and the perils of battle, men serving side by side, forget race.  They simply realize that they are sharing hardships in common; are beset by a common foe and are the subjects of common dangers.  Under such circumstances they become comrades.  They learn to admire each other and willingly give to each other a full measure of praise and appreciation.  The Negro soldiers generally, have expressed unstintedly, approbation and praise of their white officers; and the officers have been equally generous.  Here is an appreciation by one of the officers of the 372nd regiment, Lieutenant Jerome Meyer of Washington, concerning the men of that organization: 

“Casualties were heavy because the colored lads fought to the last, cheerfully accepting death in preference to captivity.  Their adeptness in mastering the throwing of hand grenades and in operating the machine guns quickly won them the esteem of the French.  Remember, that the colored lads were quite new to warfare.  But in the Champagne they fought with a persistence and courage that enabled them to hold permanently the ground they gained and won for many of them their decorations.  Not a few of the prisoners taken by the regiment declared that the Germans were in positive fear of the Negroes, who, they complained, would never quit even under terrible fire.”

One of the outstanding heroes of the 372nd regiment was Sergeant Ira Payne, of 325 Fifteenth Street, Washington, D.C.  He won the Croix de Guerre and the Distinguished Service Cross, and according to his comrades, “was not afraid of the devil himself.”  His story as related by himself on his return home, follows: 

“During the fighting at Sechault the Germans were picking off the men of my platoon from behind a bush.  They had several machine guns and kept up a deadly fire in spite of our rifle fire directed at the bush.  We did our best to stop those machine guns, but the German aim became so accurate that they were picking off five of my men every minute.  We couldn’t stand for that.
“Well, I decided that I would get that little machine gun nest myself, and I went after it.  I left our company, detoured, and, by a piece of luck got behind the bush.  I got my rifle into action and ‘knocked off’ two of those German machine gunners.  That ended it.  The other Germans couldn’t stand so much excitement.  The Boches surrendered and I took them into our trenches as prisoners.”

Not a long story for such an able and courageous exploit, yet it contains the germ for an epic recital on bravery.

First Sergeant John A. Johnson a colored member of Company B, was decorated with the Croix de Guerre with palm for exceptional bravery during a charge over the top, and for capturing single-handed, two Hun soldiers who later proved valuable as sources of information.  Sergeant Johnson’s home was at 1117 New Jersey Avenue, Washington, D.C.  He was equally reticent about boasting of his deeds.

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History of the American Negro in the Great World War from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.