History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With MexicoSweeney, William Allison
History
History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe; Including a Resume of His Past Services to his Country in the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, the War of Rebellion, the Indian Wars on the Frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the Late Imbroglio With Mexico
Sweeney, William Allison
African American soldiers; African Americans -- History -- 1877-1964; World War, 1914-1918 -- Participation, African American
"The point I wish to convey to the people back home is that did
they but know how cheerfully, even eagerly our boys over here
accept war time conveniences, they would not worry quite so much
about how the boys are faring. They are being wholesomely and
plenteously fed; they are warmly clothed, they are cheerful and
uncomplaining as they know this is war and for that reason know
exactly what they must expect. To the soldier who must at times
sleep with but the canopy of heaven as a covering, and the earth as
a mattress, a box freight car that shields him from the rain and
wind is a real luxury, and he accepts it as such.
"There need not be any worry back home as to the maintenance of our
colored soldiers over here. They receive the same substantial fare
the white soldier receives, and the white soldier travels from
point to point in the same box freight cars as afford means of
passage for colored soldiers. In short, when it comes to
maintenance and equipment, and consideration for the comfort of the
American soldier, to use a trite saying, 'the folks are as good as
the people.' There is absolutely no discrimination, and the
cheerfulness of those 1,000 boys whose freight cars became, in
imagination, Pullman palace cars, was the proof to me that the
colored boys in the ranks are getting a fifty-fifty break."
"Two more stories have come to me," continues Mr. Tyler, "to prove
that our colored soldiers preserve and radiate their humor even
where shells and shrapnel fly thickest. A colored soldier slightly
wounded in the Argonne fighting--and let me assure you there was
'some' fighting there--sat down beside the road to wait for a
chance to ride to the field hospital. A comrade hastening forward
to his place in the line, and anxious for the latest news of the
progressing battle, asked the wounded brother if he had been in the
fight; did he know all about it, and how were things going at the
front. 'I sure does know all about it,' the wounded man replied.
'Well, what's happened to them?' quickly asked the trooper on his
way to the front. 'Well, it was this way,' replied the wounded one,
'I was climbin' over some barbed wire tryin' to get to those d--n
Boches, and they shot me; that's what I know about it.'
"A company water cart was following the advancing troops when a
German shell burst in the ditch almost beside the cart. The horse
on the shell side was killed, and the driver was wounded in the
head. While the blood from his wound ran freely down his face, the
driver took one look at the wreckage, then started stumbling back
along the road. A white lieutenant who had seen it all stopped the
driver of the cart and said:
"The dressing station is--"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account