WASHINGTON — Speaker Johnson hosted a bipartisan Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony today to honor the 369th Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Division – commonly known as the Harlem Hellfighters – who served in World War I. The Harlem Hellfighters were an all-black unit from New York that fought under French command in World War I and were heralded around the globe for their bravery. During the war, the Hellfighters never lost a trench nor surrendered any ground, and they were awarded a French unit citation for their valor.
The ceremony was held in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol and featured remarks from Speaker Johnson, Secretary of Defense Hegseth, Leader Schumer, Leader Jeffries, Senator Gillibrand, Rep. Beatty, Rep. Suozzi, Rep. Espaillat, and families and descendants of the Harlem Hellfighters. Also attending the ceremony were General Dan Caine, and General Steven Nordhaus.
Watch the Speaker’s remarks here
Read Speaker Johnson’s remarks below:
What a delight to see you all. To my colleagues in Congress, officials of the U.S. Army, distinguished guests, good afternoon and welcome to the United States Capitol.
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor this body can bestow upon any group or individual.
Here in these halls, we take seriously our responsibility to award this honor and to show our national appreciation for the achievements and contributions of truly great Americans.
So today, pursuant to H.R.3642, we have the great pleasure of awarding this medal to the brave heroes we know as the Harlem Hellfighters.
Scripture tells us to give honor where honor is due, and today America pauses to bestow an honor that is long overdue.
From the day President Lincoln signed his Emancipation Proclamation, opening the doors of the U.S. Army to Black Americans, generations of African American soldiers have answered the call to fight for freedom – whether on battlefields at home or abroad.
Their nation asked them to fight, and they did – again and again – even while being denied the full measure of those freedoms here on American soil.
It was in this spirit that the Harlem Hellfighters took up arms in the First World War.
They faced persistent persecution and discrimination in the ranks, but they swore an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States – and they kept that oath with their lives.
Though the days of World War I are becoming a distant memory, the lessons of courage, honor, and duty we can learn from these men endure to this day and beyond.
To the families, friends, and admirers with us today, your nation owes you a word of special thanks.
Some of you have worked years to make this day possible and to see these men receive the recognition they so dearly deserve.
They never gave up, and we are deeply grateful for that.
As you know, this story is one that’s been overlooked and overshadowed for far too long. But today we right that wrong.
Today, on behalf of the nation, we say, “Thank you,” and we give the brave men of the Harlem Hellfighters a permanent place in the history of the United States.
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I just wanted to share one more quick story because it’s an encouraging one. There are lots of stories about these great men and their valor and heroism and what they’ve meant to our country.
And as has been said and my good friend Hakeem Jeffries noted, and everybody has, at the time of the first World War, our military was still segregated. Black soldiers were most often assigned to labor battalions. They would, they would be ordered to dig ditches instead of seeing combat.
But among those determined to right this wrong was the man who was named earlier, Colonel William Hayward.
He was the officer instrumental in organizing, recruiting, and training the Harlem Hellfighters. He believed in these men. And there’s a story I just wanted to share briefly before we hand out the medal.
It was the spring of 1917. As America mobilized for war, there was a military parade held in the streets of Harlem to rally potential recruits.
A photograph from that day was shown mockingly to Colonel Hayward, who himself was preparing to deploy to France with the 369th regiment.
Pictured before him were a couple hundred men, loosely organized as they trudged down through the streets of Harlem. And as one soldier put it, it was actually a dreadful picture to record. That’s a quote.
The colonel’s face lit up with anger. He was frustrated by it. It was hardly the picture of military might that he had envisioned for his own men that he’d recruited.
But then as he looked again, something changed. Colonel Hayward would later recall that a vision came to him in that moment. And in his vision, those scattered columns of men transformed.
Their numbers increased by 20-fold in his vision, onlookers cheered in the soldiers had taken on a “new and magnificent dignity.”
Colonel Hayward wondered aloud whether that fond dream of his might ever come true.
Thankfully, as history notes, it actually did. There was a day, there was a moment, when the war was finally over and the Harlem Hellfighters returned to a hero’s welcome. They went back to Harlem, tens of thousands cheered them on.
They cheered on these brave men as they marched down Madison Avenue. Sounds of exaltation and gratitude could be heard from every direction as men and women cried, “God bless these boys.”
And now, on behalf of a grateful nation, as we honor these brave men, we say once again, in no uncertain terms, God bless these boys.
May God bless the fallen of all of our wars, our veterans, their families, and all those who still serve today and following that great legacy. Thank you all for being here.
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