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A More Unbending Battle: The Harlem Hellfighter's Struggle for Freedom in WWI and Equality at Home

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Review: "A More Unbending Battle" by Peter N. Nelson
This wonderful book is really 3 stories in one. A black regiment goes to France to fight in World War I, but their fight includes racial bigotry within the civilian and military population, in addition they become musical ambassadors.
The 369th US Regiment, assigned to the French army, is fighting for a country that has a good proportion of the population wishing them ill and to see them fail. Rather than succumb to a "demoralizing from within" environment they strive to do their best as American soldiers. They fight and are awarded France's highest honors. In doing so they find, in the French, a people that do not degrade them based on the color of their skin. They introduce to the French, jazz.
Peter N. Nelson has woven this tale with organizational skill and excellent writing. He puts the reader in the trenches and behind the scenes of an almost forgotten part of American black wartime history.
At the end of the book during a narration of the 369th's march in New York City up to Harlem, Peter intersperses bios of the men noted in the book. What happened to them after the war ends. Something you always are curious about when reading a documentary.

The story of the great contribution made by black men of Harlem, NYC. I saw them march down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan about seventy years ago.
This also cleared up a mystery, for me, as to why the guidions had
NY 15 instead of NY 369. They were a very proud group of men.

Mr Nelsons book brings history to life. He creates richly detailed scenes that made me feel like I was walking through the pages, and marching with these men- these honorable, mostly forgotten warriors who fought many wars simultaneously, forging the way for freedoms for all.
This book tells their story in an honest, unflinching ,time-alive way that gives their history the solid place it deserves.

A More Unbending Battle tells the incredibly powerful story of the 369th Infantry, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters, the first African-American regiment to be deployed for combat in World War I. In fact, it was the first African American regiment to be deployed for combat in a global conflict. Author Pete Nelson has a gift for humanizing history and this book is full of the very real personal stories of these men, most who gave their lives for their country, a country that did not always treat them as well. Although they were permitted to carry weapons and trained for combat, there was much skepticism in the U.S. military about the wisdom of this decision. Previously, these segregated regiments had been used only as labor troops. But the French had been at war for a while, their troops seriously depleted so the 369th Infantry was sent to France to fight under the French flag. The soldiers were stunned at how well they were treated by the French; France did not have the segregation policies that were in place in the U.S. military and the soldiers fought side by side to hold the lines. They went on to distinguish themselves in combat until the end of the war, never losing ground and no prisoners were taken. Nearly 200 members of the unit were awarded the Croix de Guerre. The soldiers who returned to America after the war were filled with a new dignity and there was a national pride in their accomplishments that became their legacy. Nelson follows these men, recruited from all walks of life, from enlistment to combat and if they were lucky, back home again. This brilliant chronicle will change the way history remembers the Harlem Hellfighters.

A brief but enlightening account of the first African American regiment, formed in the latter part of WWI. Amidst racial tensions that was the norm back in the day, the author depicts the contributions these marginalised warriors brought not only to the war effort, but also to the advancement of racial tolerance in America.

These men grew in maturity and stature, as they advanced the cause of democracy and freedom through their courage, their music and ultimately their lives.

It is ironic to read too that both before and after the war, and despite their efforts and sacrifices for the greater good, that these men would continue to be discriminated by bigotry and small mindedness. More surprising is the fact that they were treated with much greater respect by their French comrades (whom they were annexed to) and European civillians, than their own army.

A real eye opener.

A MORE UNENDING BATTLE; THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS' STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM IN WWI AND EQUALITY AT HOME provides the powerful story of the first Afro-American regiment to fight in World War 1. Journalist Peter Nelson details the story of a troop recruited from all walks of Harlem life, which became one of most successful regiments of the war. An excellent pick for any library strong in both military history and social issues.