2-832-253 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

An English-language dispatch titled [ORDER NO. 14.645 "D" (EXTRACT)] from the General Headquarters of the French Armies of the East. The commendation comes from the [Personnel Bureau / (Decorations)] and lists French and American forces and personnel who have put Corporal Laurence Leslie McVey up for an award. The order praises McVey for displaying courage by leading an attack that resulted in his being wounded. On the bottom right a math equation is written in black ink and the word [ordre] in graphite. 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 Regiment and nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters," the 369th was the first African American regiment to reach the battlefields of World War I and the first Allied troops to reach the banks of the Rhine. Upon completion of the 369th’s service in the war, the regiment had spent 191 days in combat, the longest of any American regiment. In appreciation for their actions in the Maison-en-Champagne campaign, the 369th was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government for acts of bravery in conflicts against the enemy. In addition to this honor, 171 individual members of the 369th Regiment were awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. The 369th Regiment finished their service in Europe and returned to the US in February 1919.