Sept. 3 (UPI) — Congress honored the men of the Army’s 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Harlem Hellfighters,” with a Congressional Gold Medal during a Wednesday afternoon ceremony in Washington.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., presented the unit’s Congressional Gold Medal to Debra Willett, whose grandfather, Sgt. Leander Willett, fought with the regiment in France, where it earned its iconic name.
“My grandfather and the other brave men that fought alongside him never thought that their courage and their exploits would be celebrated in such a revered setting,” Willett said, as reported by the New York Post.
“They sacrificed, and they thought that they were making a difference, and today proves that they did,” she said.
Former President Joe Biden in 2021 signed legislation authorizing the Congressional Gold Medal for the veterans.
New York’s congressional members spent nearly five years trying to secure the award for the veterans.
Johnson was accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and other members of New York’s congressional delegation.
“We know about their 191 consecutive days in combat, from the trenches of France to the banks of the Rhine,” Schumer told event attendees.
“We know about their triumphs,” he added. “We know about their tragic losses, including 1,500 casualties — more than any American unit.”
Jeffries described the unit as “brave, bold and beguiling patriots” who “risked everything fighting to protect freedoms they did not fully know.”
Speaker Johnson repeated a commonly heard saying when the unit returned from France.
“We say again, in no uncertain terms: God bless these boys,” Johnson said.
The regiment was comprised of Black soldiers who were deployed with the French army during World War I after President Woodrow Wilson earlier authorized the U.S. military to segregate its troops.
Many White troops refused to serve alongside the all-black unit that the German Army dubbed the “hellfighters” due to their prowess in battle.
Former President Barack Obama in 2015 awarded the Medal of Honor to one Harlem Hellfighters veteran, Pvt. William Henry Johnson.
Despite being wounded, Johnson fought off a German attack on May 15, 1918, with his rifle and hand-to-hand combat.
The Congressional Gold Medal is the nation’s highest civilian award, while the Medal of Honor is the highest award for individual military actions.
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