Kings Of Jazz In War

It is the 100th anniversary of the "war to end all wars". The First World War is still ingrained in our memories as it was so traumatic: the war had led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, and it is estimated that the war claimed nine million combatants and seven million civilians. Moreover, subsequent rivalries at the end of the war contributed to the start of the Second World War approximately twenty years later.

Amidst all the tragedies, there were also other memorable and touching human stories. The story of the "Harlem Hellfighters" is one of those extraordinary episodes of the First World War history.

The U.S. National Guard regiment, initially known as the "15th New York", then the 369th Infantry attached to the French Army, and eventually, “The Harlem Hellfighters”, made a very special history.

In this podcast, the first episode of a new series of the BBC's The Cultural Front, Francine Stock tells the little known story of "The Harlem Hellfighters". They were an African American unit who, along with their military band, were dispatched to France in 1917. These were still times of segregation in America; the times when Jim Crow laws still dominated society.

As Stock narrates, the American military would not allow Black soldiers to fight alongside White recruits. Hence, the U.S. Army handed over the 15th regiment to the French. In the end, "The Harlem Hellfighters" turned out to become the most decorated regiment in the American Expeditionary Force. And they are also credited with introducing jazz music to Europe: the very musical form that was just growing out of ragtime, and that would turn out to define generations to come. 

Pvt. Henry Johnson, fighting in the Argonne Forest in May 1918, was the first American soldier to be awarded that highest French honor Croix de Guerre.