Most of the veterans on the West End monument – 265 men and three women – were enlisted and performed largely support roles for combat forces. They trucked ammunition, fuel, and medical supplies. Some cooked, others delivered mail.

This is not to say African-American soldiers and sailors didn’t serve in harm’s way. Many died in combat.

African-Americans who served not only endured racism in the military but here at home. It was unsafe for them to wear a uniform in parts of the South during and after the war. Several African-Americans were lynched in their uniforms after World War I, says Walter Hill, archivist at the National Archives in Bethesda, Md.

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