Harlem Hellfighters, WWI Heroes, Win Long-Delayed Honor

HARLEM, NY — The Harlem Hellfighters, a majority-Black World War I regiment whose soldiers won plaudits for their bravery, have come a step closer to getting long-delayed recognition from the federal government.

The U.S. Senate on Monday passed the Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act, a bill introduced by New York lawmakers that would award the medal to the Hellfighters. Having already passed the House in June, it now only needs President Joe Biden's signature to become official.

Descendants of the soldiers had gathered this spring at Harlems 369th Regiment Armory — constructed in the Hellfighters' honor — as U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi announced he was introducing a bill to honor the group.

"It is never too late to do the right thing," said Suozzi, a Long Island congressman who became interested in the Hellfighters after he was approached by neighbors whose ancestor, Sgt. Leander Willett, had been injured in France while serving with the regiment.

The Hellfighters, a segregated regiment composed mostly of Black and Puerto Rican troops, were deployed to France in 1917. They earned their nickname from their German foes, who were impressed by their enemies' bravery on the battlefield.

In 1918, the Hellfighters were assigned to serve with the French Army, rather than with their white countrymen who refused to serve with Black soldiers — a "decades-old injustice" that the Gold Medal would help correct, Suozzi said in April.

They also experienced overt racism: members of the regiment were denied service at businesses while they traveled in the U.S. before their deployment, and faced continued discrimination upon their return home.

Those in attendance at April's ceremony included former U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel — himself a decorated veteran of the Korean War — as well as former Harlem Assemblymember Keith Wright, whose grandfather served with the Hellfighters.

The Hellfighters would be the third African American military group to receive the Gold Medal — Congress's highest honor bestowed upon individuals and institutions — following the Tuskegee Airmen and the Montfort Point Marines, both of whom served in World War II.

Jérémie Robert, the French consul general to New York, said the Hellfighters were "American heroes, and also heroes in France."

"We owe them a debt of gratitude," he said.

The Senate bill had been introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who noted that the Hellfighters spent 191 days in front-line trenches — more than any other U.S. regiment during the war.

"The Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act honors these brave men, who, even as they faced segregation and prejudice, risked their lives to defend our freedoms," she said in a statement.

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