Cpl. Lawrence Leslie McVey Papers

About the Project

Cpl. Lawrence McVey served during World War I in the 369th Infantry Regiment, better known as the “Harlem Hellfighters.” Due to racial tension within the US Army, the 369th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the French Army for the duration of US involvement in World War I. Formed from the 15th New York National Guard, the 369th was the first African American regiment to reach the battlefields of France and one of the first American units to reach the banks of the Rhine River. The 369th spent more days in front-line trenches than any other American regiment in the war. Corporal McVey, who served for the entirety of the war, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his bravery in action while leading an attack on a machine-gun nest during the fight at Séchault on September 29, 1918.

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