black history

Aug 16, 2022

Who the original Buffalo Soldiers were and how they got their nickname

After the Civil War, many Black Americans began enlisting in the U.S. Army because it was a way to earn…

Aug 16, 2022

Jun 22, 2023

Black Americans volunteered to fight Axis Italy in droves before the US entered WWII

In New York’s Harlem, the Italian invasion of a worldwide symbol of African unity and the last independent African nation was too much.

Jun 22, 2023

Jun 6, 2022

‘The Red Ball Express’ kept the Allies supplied and armed after the D-Day breakout

After storming the beaches of Normandy and fighting through the hedgerows of the French countryside, the Allied forces invading Nazi-occupied…

Jun 6, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

May 31, 2023

Here’s why Colonel Young rode 450 miles to get a new Army rank

Teddy Roosevelt even wanted him to lead a volunteer regiment in World War I. There was just one problem: Colonel Charles Young was black.

BYBlake Stilwell

May 31, 2023

May 18, 2023

These 8 Black-American heroes received Medals of Honor decades later

These black Medal of Honor recipients received their awards for their actions decades after the battles. Learn why here.

May 18, 2023

May 1, 2023

These were America’s first black paratroopers

During World War II a company of service soldiers became the world’s first black paratroopers and then made history as smokejumpers.

May 1, 2023

Apr 11, 2023

The Army’s first Black female three-star grew up an orphan

Two months ago Nadja Y. West became the Army’s first black surgeon general, and on Feb. 9 she will be promoted to lieutenant general, the first female U.S. Military Academy graduate as well as the first African-American woman to hold that ran…

Apr 11, 2023

Mar 29, 2022

This African American Green Beret battled communists and racism in Vietnam

Colonel Paris Davis is one of the first Black officers to earn the coveted Green Beret of U.S. Special Forces….

Mar 29, 2022

Mar 19, 2023

The first Black Marine Corps aviator was the Corps’ first Black general

When Frank E. Petersen, Jr. retired from the Marine Corps in 1988, he was not only the senior ranking aviator…

Mar 19, 2023

Mar 14, 2023

The only all-Black, all-female battalion that served overseas during WWII

For troops on the frontlines, receiving mail from home is a welcome reprieve from the stress and dangers of combat….

Mar 14, 2023

BYBrittany Sulc

Feb 28, 2023

5 inspiring Black vets who fought for civil rights

During World War II and the Korean War, the United States trained over 1.5 million African American soldiers. Aside from…

BYBrittany Sulc

Feb 28, 2023

Feb 22, 2023

The Army posthumously promoted the first black Colonel to General

Rising through the ranks requires a person to demonstrate great leadership, competence, and trust, among other qualities. For some service…

Feb 22, 2023

Feb 9, 2022

Armistead was Marquis de Lafayette’s slave. He was also his friend – and a spy.

James Armistead was an enslaved African-American man who was born in Virginia. Different historical sources put his birth in either…

Feb 9, 2022

Oct 25, 2022

Today in military history: First black general in the USAF

On Oct. 27, 1954, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. became the first black general in the United States Air Force, following…