Fighting for Respect

The U.S. military was entirely segregated during World War I. The Marine Corps excluded Black Americans until 1942. The 370,000 African Americans in the Army and Navy were largely assigned to such unskilled labor as road-building, freight-hauling, and the digging of trenches and graves. Only two Black combat units were created: the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions. They were commanded by white officers, American as well as French. Seizing an opportunity to earn respect, Blacks readily volunteered. On their return home, however, their heroism was ignored, and they remained unrecognized as equal. 

This article was featured in the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, Vol. 126, No. 1 in connection with the The Commonwealth and the Great War exhibition.

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Photograph of Private Ashton Burrell
Private Ashton Burrell’s draft registration card, dated June 1917, states that he was born in New Kent County, Virginia, and worked there as a laborer. He served as a wagoner in Co. D, 510th Engineer Service Battalion, which was organized at Camp Lee. He also registered for the draft during World War II, at the age of forty-eight. (Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 1991.1.4111)
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Black soldiers at Camp Lee
Black soldiers at Camp Lee were made to work at menial tasks and endure substandard living conditions. Reports stated that “the whole atmosphere in regard to the colored soldier at Camp Lee is one which does not inspire him to greater patriotism, but rather makes him question the sincerity of the great war principles of America.” (Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 2011.91.16)