SUMMARY

During WWI, the first all-Black U.S. Infantry Regiment, the 369th (15th NY) "Harlem HellFighters", served alongside French soldiers and spent 191 days in frontline trenches. They never lost a foot of ground, never had a man taken prisoner. They received their nickname from their German foes: “Hellfighters,” the Harlem Hellfighters.
These soldiers also formed a first-rate marching band for parades, recruitment and fundraisers, the "Harlem HellFighters Marching Band" and due to this regimental band’s success, bands with Black musicians became a regular feature on Broadway.
By the end of the war, France awarded the regiment the "Croix de Guerre" and the U.S., the "Congressional Gold Medal."

This picture was shot on February 12, 1919, as nine HellFighters were waiting to disembark in New York, on their way home from the "Great War" in Europe.
Left to right, front row: Pvt. Ed Williams, Herbert Taylor, Pvt. Leon Fraitor, Pvt. Ralph Hawkins; back row: Sgt. H. D. Prinas, Sgt. Dan Strorms, Pvt. Joe Williams, Pvt. Alfred Hanley, and Cpl. T. W. Taylor.
More about these nine soldiers on the National Park Service website.