Congressional Gold Medal sought to honor Harlem Hellfighters' service in WWI
A predominantly Black infantry regiment from World War I known as the Harlem Hellfighters — denied weapons by the United States even while fighting for their own country — would be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal under legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi.
On Thursday, Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) promoted his bill, which hasn’t yet been formally introduced in Congress, at an event in Harlem. Speakers recalled the 191 days the infantry served under enemy fire beside the French army which gave the Hellfighters weapons, helmets, belts and other supplies.
"It’s never too late to do the right thing. It’s never too late to try and make up for the failures of the past, and a great failure of this country, as we hear more and more about every day, is the way we’ve treated African Americans throughout our history, and this is just another example of it, and we need to fix it," Suozzi said, his voice echoing inside the 369th Regiment Armory in Manhattan.
There were at least 40 men who served in the regiment from the Locust Valley, Sea Cliff, Oyster Bay and Glen Cove area, according to Richard Harris, of the Harlem Hellfighters Project Committee, based out of Glen Cove. That figure doesn’t include those from elsewhere on Long Island who served with the regiment, he said. The regiment had thousands who served and also included some Puerto Ricans.
According to a description on the U.S. Congress website, "Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions."
At the time of World War I, the American military was still segregated, although Black soldiers served dating back to before the American Revolution. Not until President Harry S. Truman in 1948 was the military desegregated.
The Hellfighters were the first unit of the French, British, or American armies to reach the Rhine River at the end of the war, according to a history provided by Suozzi’s office. The unit was given 11 French citations and a Croix de Guerre, as were 170 soldiers from the regiment.
At Suozzi’s event Thursday was Debra Willett, who works in library operations for Hofstra University and is granddaughter of Sgt. Leander Willett of Oyster Bay, who served with the Harlem Hellfighters.
"I can use the current buzzwords, such as ‘woke’ and ‘ally,’ but the words I would like to say are much simpler: ‘honor,’ ‘gratitude,’ and ‘America,’ " Debra Willett said in prepared remarks. "Those are words that my grandfather, and the many other soldiers that fought alongside him, wanted and deserved to hear."
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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