The Harlem Hellfighters : The Forgotten Heroes Of Wwi Essay

The Harlem Hellfighters, by Max Brooks, is a novel written to demonstrate a different perspective of World War I. The Harlem Hellfighters fought hard for the two battles they encountered; one was the enemy away from home and the other was racism back at their own home. The Harlem Hellfighters did not receive the appropriate recognition or any at that; when they of course deserved it. This novel shows the bravery of the African American soldiers, a better understanding of the United States entering the war in 1917 and also all throughout till the end of the war in 1918. Brooks’ disproves of what is considered the traditional idea, but this is what makes the importance of the novel.

even requested them to be attached to the French Army. But the War Department refused and the 92nd moved on to participate heroically in the September 1918 Meuse-Argonne offensive.

     Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. According to Wintz:

The two poems “December 1919” and “Harlem Shadows” show McKays admiration for women. He indicates that they are special by the love he shows toward his mother and the sorrow he shows toward the prostitutes in Harlem. Because of his love for women, we can see that he has hope, and wants the prostitutes represented in “Harlem Shadows” to do better, so that he and many others can have the same love and respect for them as he does for his mom in “December 1919”.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new na-tion, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” a quote by America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, directly recalling how equality was the catalyst for the conception of America. It’s a universal right that should be known by all, but it was barely an option in our country for the African American faction almost a century ago. Chained, chastised and condemned, the African American had to surpass through radical odds to get to a mediocre amount of respect. When World War I first began, many citizens of America saw it as a seemingly distant European conflict that they couldn’t be bothered with.

     The Harlem Renaissance was a time of racism, injustice, and importance. Somewhere in between the 1920s and 1930s an African American movement occurred in Harlem, New York City. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. It was the result of Blacks migrating in the North, mostly Chicago and New York. There were many significant figures, both male and female, that had taken part in the Harlem Renaissance. Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes exemplify the like and work of this movement.

African-American soldiers and civilians fought a two-front battle during World War II. There was the enemy overseas, and also

W.E.B. DuBois’ “Returning Soldiers,” an editorial piece written in May of 1919 for the NAACP’s publication The Crisis lays out for not just returning soldiers, but for African-Americans as a whole that the war is not over. While the Great War of 1914-1918 may have ended, there is still a greater war to continue to fight on the American homefront. “Returning Soldiers” calls out the United States government on the charges against its people as seen by DuBois and reiterates and rejuvenates the reader for the fight it still needs to take on. The black man soldier may have escaped the battlefields of France and now be able to shed the uniform that symbolizes the systematic injustices he faced, but upon returning, in his “civil garb” he is still a soldier, only in a different military.

The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, commanded by Robert Gould Shaw, was one of the most famous regiments of black soldiers. Among its members were two of Frederick

Two things were unusual about this American fighter pilot. First, he had passed up a sure kill. Second, he was Black. He flew with the only U.S. Fighter squad involved in World War Two that could claim to have never lost a bomber they were escorting. The Group was the 332nd Fighter Group, "The Redtails," the famed all African American outfit that fought both American racism and Nazi militarism. Under the leadership and discipline of Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, the Redtails had learned that their mission in life was to protect the bombers(Respect and Honor 1).

The 369th Infantry Regiment otherwise known as the Harlem Hellfighters was the first all-black US combat unit that was shipped during WW I and was crucial in the WWII battles in Hawaii and Okinawa. These members who were skilled and very proud were shipped to Hawaii and protected the Hawaiian islands with antiaircraft from Japanese attack. William De Fossett was one of the main leaders of the 369th regiment, who joined it due to the regiments fame from the waning days of World War I. The original Harlem Hellfighters fought with the French Army and were awarded for their excellent service. De Fossett made the highly selective and demanding requirements of the 369th regiment. He grew up in the highly cultured

The Harlem Hellfighters is recognized as a graphic novel that author, Max Brooks use to balance historical accuracy with vivid storytelling to publicize the story of those who served with the 369th, in the War to End All Wars. As Brooks stated in the novel before the story started, the story was a fictionalized account of the 369th Infantry Regiment in World War I. However, it “brings to life a long forgotten piece of American history.” - Spike Lee

The U.S. Army, given the size of the force, was pressed by American public alert, and even more by the develops of Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, a New York official, and his First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, a collection of western cowboys and eastern elites recognized as the “Rough Riders” (Robert, 1993, p. 74).

Wilson would bargain with theses soldiers that if they would commit to fighting this war it would show that they were true Americans and would earn the respect and freedom of such. Theodore Roosevelt had success with his Rough Riders, who were a diverse group of volunteer cavalry soldiers of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Roosevelt would help pave the way for the legendary 77th “lost battalion” division, also known as the “Melting Pot” division, due to the diversity of immigrants from Italian, Irish, Jewish, and Chinese decent. The 77th was led by Major Charles White Whittlesey. The 369th Infantry was made up of African American men also known as the “Harlem Hell Fighters”. Both groups had to try and overcome the prejudices of America; the 77th was the object of suspicion due to their ancestry. The 369th Infantry had to deal with a personal disrespect and humiliation so deep they had to deal with segregation and degradation of the Jim Crow laws. All these men yearned for and needed to prove that they were worthy of being called an American Citizen. They deserved to be treated equally and accepted amongst men. While America had their suspicions of these soldiers, the belief that they would equal failure due to their ethnicity was great. Nevertheless, the 77th division and the 369th Infantry were

While reading the stories “Where have you gone Charming Billy”, “Soldiers Home” and “The Things They Carried” the soldiers Krebs, Jimmy Cross, Paul Berlin and many more had something going