Fighting for Freedom

Johnson sent up a flare to warn the rest of the troops. Before he and Roberts knew it, about two dozen German soldiers had ambushed them. The Germans released a shower of grenades. Roberts was knocked off his feet. He was seriously injured by the blasts. In the chaos, enemy soldiers tried to carry him away as a prisoner.

Johnson was injured too. And he was out of bullets. But he was still able to rescue Roberts from the Germans. Together, the two men continued to fight. They threw grenades. Johnson plunged his bolo knife into enemy troops. By the time other soldiers arrived to help, Roberts and Johnson had forced the Germans to retreat.

That battle was just one of many the two young men had to fight—both overseas and at home. After all, they risked their lives to defend freedom abroad. Many other Black soldiers did the same. Yet they returned home to a nation that refused to grant them even the most basic civil rights.

Less than five years before that fateful night, Roberts was an average 13-year-old. He had been raised in Trenton, New Jersey. His father was a pastor and a janitor. In July 1914, World War I broke out. By then, Roberts was a clerk at a local pharmacy.

Back then, World War I was known as the Great War. It began as a struggle for power between two groups of European nations. On one side were the Allied powers. They were led by France, the United Kingdom, and Russia. On the other side were the Central powers. They were led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, which was centered in what is now Türkiye (Turkey). The United States was an ocean away. At first, it pledged to stay neutral.

At the time, Black Americans like Roberts were fighting a battle of their own. Nearly 50 years before, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had guaranteed equal rights to African Americans. Yet in the 1910s, much of the U.S. remained unequal.

Black people faced racism and violence throughout the country. That was especially true in the South. Many state and local governments had passed laws discriminating against Black Americans, who were often treated as second-class citizens. They were not allowed to hold certain jobs, vote, or attend the same schools as White children. They could not live in certain neighborhoods.

The U.S. military was segregated too. Black soldiers were put in separate units. Few were allowed in combat roles.

But on April 6, 1917, the U.S. declared war on Germany. So the country needed every soldier it could get.

An all-Black unit was ready. It was from Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City. The 15th New York National Guard Regiment had been created in 1916 after years of lobbying by local Black leaders. A handful of African American units existed in other parts of the country. Many people thought that Harlem should have one too, because of its rich Black history. 

As the U.S. prepared for war, the unit’s numbers grew quickly. Many of the men who enlisted were from Harlem. But others came from different parts of New York or nearby states such as Connecticut and New Jersey. They had worked as teachers, doormen, and more. In all, more than 2,000 men would volunteer for the unit.

Roberts, then 15, was eager to do his part. But men had to be at least 18 to enlist. So he lied: He said he was 19.

For teens like Roberts, signing up for the war would have been a way to escape their everyday lives, says John Morrow. He is a history professor at the University of Georgia.

“They were looking for adventure,” he explains.

But older recruits knew what was at stake. Many Black people viewed the war as a chance to demonstrate their abilities and patriotism. They thought success in the war could lead to more rights at home. They hoped it could advance equality.

“They were eager to prove the worth of African Americans,” says Morrow, “to show that they deserved equal citizenship.”

Before being sent overseas, the Harlem unit was sent to Spartanburg, South Carolina, in October 1917 for training. Roberts and the others would have been in for a shock, says Morrow. Many of them had never experienced the overt racism of the Deep South. 

“Our boys had some pretty bitter pills to swallow,” Noble Sissle, a member of the unit, later wrote.

White people in the area made it clear that the 15th wasn’t welcome. They refused to serve the soldiers in stores, and used racial slurs and threats against them. 

Before long, the unit’s leader, Commander William Hayward, requested his men be sent to Europe. 

Before going overseas, the Harlem unit had to train. For that, the soldiers were sent to Spartanburg, South Carolina. That was in October 1917. Roberts and the others would have been in for a shock, says Morrow. Many of them had never experienced the open racism of the Deep South.

“Our boys had some pretty bitter pills to swallow,” Noble Sissle later wrote. He was a member of the unit.

White people in the area made it clear that the 15th was not welcome. They refused to serve the soldiers in stores. And they used racial slurs and threats against them.

Before long, the unit’s leader requested that his men be sent to Europe. That leader was Commander William Hayward.

A few weeks later, the unit landed in Brest, France. There, they were renamed the 369th Infantry Regiment. At first, the men were assigned to support roles. That included digging holes, building roads, and unloading ships. Those tasks were often assigned to Black soldiers. But Hayward pushed for his men to be allowed to fight on the front lines.

Many White American soldiers thought that Black people were not fit for combat and largely refused to fight alongside them. So the U.S. military eventually offered the 369th to the French. By then, the Allied powers had suffered millions of casualties. And France was demanding support from the Americans.

How did French soldiers react to their new comrades?

“They greeted them as brothers in arms,” says Morrow. “The French were perfectly happy to have African Americans fighting alongside them.”

The French Army taught the 369th how to use machine guns, poison gas, and other deadly weapons. Then the unit was pushed onto the front lines. Finally, the men got what they had been waiting for. They had the chance to prove themselves in combat.

On blood-soaked battlefields all over France, they did just that. They were so fierce in battle that they eventually earned the nickname the Harlem Hellfighters.

The unit’s heroism was not recognized by the U.S. military. Stories of the Hellfighters’ bravery were largely lost to history. But Roberts often spoke about his experience on the front lines. He even helped recruit Black soldiers to fight in World War II (1939-1945). He died in 1949.

It was not until 1996 that the U.S. military posthumously awarded both Roberts and Johnson the Purple Heart. That medal is given to service members wounded in battle. Roberts’s was not given until 47 years after his death. Then in 2021, the entire unit was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Morrow says it was a long-awaited recognition of all that the men had accomplished.

“The 369th was the best fighting regiment in the First World War,” he explains. “It’s important that they’re not forgotten.”