In a Corner of a French Field, Memories of US Segregation

[TomSea]

In a Corner of a French Field, Memories of US Segregation
Reuters
ARDEUIL ET MONTFAUXELLES, FRANCE —

In a half-forgotten field in France stands a worn monument to a regiment of U.S. soldiers who faced down racism at home and in their ranks to become World War I’s most decorated unit of African American soldiers.

In the run up to Veterans’ Day on Nov. 11, campaigners say the record of the 371st infantry regiment needs to be fully recognized. One man is trying to have one of the unit’s soldiers finally decorated with the Medal of Honor — the U.S. military’s highest award — a century after his death.

The 371st was largely made up of poor black laborers from segregated South Carolina.

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Between 1991 and 1997, the Medal of Honor was bestowed posthumously on black World War One hero Corporal Freddie Stowers, who rests in a U.S. cemetery in rural France.

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