By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
The legendary 369th Infantry Regiment, more commonly known as the Harlem Hellfighters, spent nearly 200 days in combat during World War I, defending the frontline trenches without conceding an inch. Despite their willingness to risk their lives for their country, the all-Black unit faced racism and discrimination.
More than a century after their service, the brave men were posthumously awarded with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by the U.S. Congress. For the Harlem Hellfighters’ descendants, the honor was long overdue.
“They showed that America is for all of us. At a time during Jim Crow when they had so much up against them, they went and fought for a government that did not want them,” said Debra Willett, granddaughter of Sgt. Leander Willett. “I think they believed that things would get better. It took a long time for them to get what they needed. I mean they never saw it, and even today, we are still fighting for our rights.”
At the time of World War I, slavery had been outlawed for decades, but Jim Crow laws implemented racial segregation across the country, including in the military. When the Harlem Hellfighters were deployed to France, American soldiers refused to serve alongside them.
The soldiers were instead placed under French command, which treated them with more respect than they received at home. In 1918, the French government even awarded the Harlem Hellfighters the Croix de Guerre, the War Cross, a distinguished military honor.
Debra Willett recalled that her grandfather’s service was common knowledge in her family, but he rarely shared anything about his experience. He did, however, have a love for France.
“My grandfather didn’t talk about it. But, my mother told us that he loved France. He loved the way that he was treated, and he said the French people were the best,” said Debra Willett. “He passed that down to us.”
During his deployment, Sgt. Leander Willett, who hailed from Glen Cove, N.Y., was stabbed with a bayonet and attacked with mustard gas. Yet, he never received a Purple Heart, a medal given to service members who are wounded or killed at enemy hands.
On Sept. 3, Debra Willett accepted the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of her grandfather and the other courageous men during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. She thinks their legacy is especially relevant today, demonstrating the resilience of Black people even when confronted with overwhelming adversity.
“In the face of such awful odds, they fought on,” said Debra Willett. “They fought on because they knew their cause was right.”
Unlike Debra Willett, Gina McVey wasn’t aware that her grandfather, Cpl. Lawrence L. McVey, was a Harlem Hellfighter. She knew he served in the military, but it was a chance encounter at a car dealership that led her to dig deeper.
While waiting on her car, McVey struck up a conversation with a man in military uniform. When she mentioned her grandfather’s service, the man asked whether he had been Black and if his medal had been the Croix de Guerre. She said yes, and he urged her to contact the Pentagon to learn more.
McVey later discovered a steel box filled with her grandfather’s wartime belongings— including his discharge papers, sharpshooter medal, victory campaign medals, pictures of his troop and even the Croix de Guerre certificate itself. Among the items was a Purple Heart, which shocked her because Black soldiers were often denied the honor.
“The next to last battle was at Séchault, my grandfather led his troop against a nest of machine gunners. They took them out, but my grandfather was wounded,” said Gina McVey. “After that, France gave him the honor of being the first to cross the Rhine River to say the war is over.”
The more McVey learned about the Harlem Hellfighters’ courage in the face of discrimination, the more she admired their perseverance and patriotism. Speaking on the soldier’s receiving the long-overdue Congressional Gold Medal, she said:
“It fills my heart so much. They went through hardships…they were so dishonored by their own country, but that did not stop them from fighting for freedom.”
