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[[image - black & white photograph of soldiers working on a bridge]]
[[caption]] ENGINEERS CONSTRUCTING A TEMPORARY BRIDGE IN NEW GUINEA [[/caption]]

The Negro soldier has a proud tradition. There were Negro soldiers in the Revolutionary War, in the War of 1812, in the Mexican War, in the Civil War. During the Spanish-American War the celebrated Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, and the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry, carried much of the burden of the assault on El Caney and San Juan Hill. More than 400,000 Negro soldiers served in the World War. Among the regiments famous for gallantry in combat were the Eighth Illinois which became the 370th Infantry and fought as part of the French "Blue Devil" division, and the 15th New York which became the 369th Infantry and fought as part of the French "Red Hand" division. Four Negro regiments were awarded the Croix de Guerre. The record of the 369th itself is one to inspire all Americans: it was under fire 191 days in France, suffered casualties in killed and wounded of 1,500 men, never lost a prisoner, never lost a foot of ground in defensive operation and took every objective except one in offense operations. That time there was a lack of artillery support. Some record. Some regiment.

[[image - black & white photograph of three soldiers in a jeep]]
[[caption]] AS PART Of THE ARMY TRAVELS: THREE MEN IN A JEEP [[/caption]]