Oct 28

Oct 28 Remembering the Heroism of Black Soldiers in WWⅠ

WWⅠ began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Germany declared war on Serbia triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war was ultimately about European military power, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. Taking place at a time when European colonial rule of Africa and the Caribbean and Jim Crow still existed. And yet over 2 million Black people served in this war including Walter Tull and Freddie Stowers, which mirrored the same discrimination and segregation they experienced in their everyday lives.

The acts of bravery and service of WWⅠ soldiers are honoured on Remembrance Day. However, in this honouring and remembering, the service of Black people from around the world, fighting in a very European war, has been deliberately forgotten. This happened instantly. The London Victory Parade following the end of the war in 1919, where approximately 20,000 soldiers from Europe, America, and Asians from the British Empire participated, not a single soldier from a Black unit was present. They simply were not invited. Their contribution is an important part of history and deserves the same recognition as their white counterparts. Here are just a few Black heroes to remember by name.

Walter Tull

Walter Tull was born to an English mother and a Barbadian father in 1888. He was one of the first Black professional footballers to grace the game with a career at Clapton FC before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 1909 and then Northampton Town.

When WWⅠ broke, Tull enlisted in the British Army, joining the 17th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. He fought in the Battle of Somme in 1916, which was one of the largest and most significant battles of the war; lasting 141 days with over 1 million casualties.

In May 1917, Tull became one of the first Black officers in the British Army, being appointed as a second lieutenant. This appointment challenged military regulations restricting officer ranks to those of "pure European descent". He was killed in action in France less than a year later at the age of 29 on March 25th, 1918. Tull was posthumously awarded the British War and Victory Medal and was recommended for the Military Cross, though he never received it.

Freddie Stowers

Freddie Stowers was born on January 12, 1896, in Sandy Springs, South Carolina. He worked on his family farm before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1917 at the age of 21. Stowers joined the all-Black Company C, 1st Battalion, 371st Infantry Regiment, part of the 93rd Division. In March 1918, his regiment was sent to France to assist French forces.

On September 28, 1918, Corporal Stowers' company was ordered to attack Hill 188 in the Champagne-Marne Sector of France. The initial assault faced strong German resistance, but a temporary lull in the fighting led the Americans to believe the enemy had surrendered. This was a deceptive tactic, and as the Americans advanced within 100 metres of the German trenches, the enemy opened fire, inflicting heavy casualties.

With his superior officers incapacitated, Corporal Stowers took command. Undeterred by the devastating fire, he led his squad forward, crawling towards an enemy machine gun nest. After neutralising the first machine gun position, Stowers continued the attack on a second trench line.

Despite sustaining mortal wounds from machine gun fire, Stowers refused to yield. He continued to urge his men forward until his final breath. Inspired by his bravery, his company persevered and captured Hill 188, inflicting significant losses on the enemy.

Immediately after the war, Stowers was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, which was later upgraded to a Medal of Honor nomination. But it took over 70 years for his individual act of heroism to be honoured. He remains the only African American to receive this honour for service in WWⅠ.

Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts

Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts were two African American soldiers in the 369th Infantry Regiment, iconically known as the Harlem Hellfighters, during WWⅠ. Their heroic actions on the night of May 15, 1918, became a defining moment in American military history.

On the night of May 14, 1918, Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, were on sentry duty in the Argonne Forest, France. Around 2 a.m. on May 15th, they were ambushed by a German raiding party of 20-25 soldiers.

In a desperate fight against the odds, They used grenades, rifles, and hand-to-hand combat to survive the German attack. Despite being wounded multiple times, Johnson continued to fight with a knife when his ammunition ran out. Roberts, severely injured by a grenade, assisted Johnson by passing him grenades. Johnson then single-handedly prevented the capture of Roberts, killing four German soldiers and wounding an estimated 10-20 others.

Both Johnson and Roberts suffered severe injuries in the battle. Johnson endured 21 wounds, while Roberts was wounded in his arm and hip. They were awarded the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme, France's highest military honour for their heroic actions. Johnson became known as the "Black Death" for his resistance. Later recognition came for Johnson when he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in 1996, the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002, and the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in 2015.

**Henry Johnson (left) and Needham Roberts (right)**

Lionel Turpin

Lionel Turpin was a Guyanese merchant seaman who came to England and enlisted in the York and Lancaster Regiment at the age of 19 and then served with the No. 32 British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. He fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and received two medals for his service at the end of the war in 1919. He suffered severe gas-burnt lungs which he succumbed to 10 years later.

*Stephen Bourne, Black Poppies – Britain’s Black Community and the Great War, The History Press, 2014*

Dr. Urbane Bass

Born on April 14, 1880, in Richmond, Virginia, Urbane Bass was a man of firsts. After graduating from Virginia Union University in 1902 and Leonard Medical School of Shaw University in 1906. In 1909, he became the city's first African American physician since the Reconstruction era (1865 -1877), opening a pharmacy two years later.

When the United States entered WWⅠ in 1917, Dr. Bass, at 37, volunteered for service. Appointed as a First Lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps, he trained at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, before being assigned to the 372nd Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Infantry Division, a segregated unit of African American soldiers. On March 30, 1918, Dr. Bass set sail for France to serve

Dr. Bass served during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in late September 1918 and later on October 6, while tending to wounded soldiers at a forward aid station near Beausejour, he was fatally badly injured by artillery fire. He was unable to survive his injuries.

For his heroic actions, Dr. Bass was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on July 9, 1919. Initially laid to rest in France, his remains were later repatriated and reinterred at Fredericksburg National Cemetery on July 23, 1921, making him the first African American officer buried there.