Celebrate Harlem Hellfighters' Heroic Service

I am Reggie Rice. My great-uncle, Pvt Israel McGow Jr., served in WW1 in a distinguished Army unit known as the Harlem Hellfighters. This is verified by official services records I found through Ancestry.coom. A simple Google search shows his temporary missing in action status in France in February 1919, as listed in the Washington Post, and, the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The 369th Infantry Regiment was originally formed in 1913 as the 15th New York National Guard Regiment. The regiment was made up of African American men from New York State and Puerto Rico.

Combat

The Harlem Hellfighters were among the first American troops to see action in World War I, fighting under French command. They fought in the Champagne-Marne and Meuse-Argonne Offensives, as well as at Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry. The regiment served 191 days of combat in France, longer than any other American regiment in World War I.

Nickname

The German army nicknamed the soldiers “Hellfighters” due to their actions on the battlefield. The regiment was also nicknamed the "Black Rattlers" for the rattlesnake insignia on their uniforms.

Awards

The French government awarded Croix de Guerre to 170 individual members and to the regiment as a whole.

Legacy

The Harlem Hellfighters' legacy includes their contribution to the liberation of France from the Germans, and their impact on music and cultures worldwide.

Although I have failed to locate the specific location of his gravesite, I obtained his death certificate indicating that his burial site is in Ft Valley, GA.

It is my dream to honor his participation in this esteemed and historic unit for future to generations to understand the nature of their sacrifice, by installing a marble bench, engraved with the story of this unit in a cemetery where many area veterans of the time are known to have been buried, near the Blue Bird Body Company in northern Ft Valley