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The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is working to identify dozens of Black soldiers killed in World War II. They served as part of the 92nd Infantry Division, known as the Buffalo Soldiers.
“The idea that we can first tell them this is how it happened, this is how he died a hero. This is the thing he was doing and what it meant to the war. And then being able to identify him after. It’s just it’s a very, very humbling thing for our job,” DPAA historian-analyst Josh Frank said. “Every story is different.”
In 1866, Congress passed legislation to create six all-Black Army Units. The end of the 19th century also brought the end of the Indian Wars, where the Buffalo Soldiers got their name. Twenty percent of U.S. cavalry troopers were Black. Native Americans referred to them as Buffalo Soldiers to symbolize their respect for the troopers’ bravery and valor.
“The two big units during World War II that everyone talks about as far as segregation goes was the 92nd Infantry Division, the Buffalo Soldiers and the 332nd fighter Group, which were the Tuskegee Airmen,” Frank said.
MEET THE AMERICAN WHO LAUNCHED THE FRISBEE, FRED MORRISON, WORLD WAR II COMBAT PILOT AND POW
Members of the 92nd Infantry Division carry guns across a field. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
U.S. Private First Class Lemuel Dent Jr. served as part of the Buffalo Soldiers and was recently identified by the DPAA nearly 80 years after his death.
“A lot of people talk about Normandy and Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Bulge. I think the Italian campaign gets a little bit forgotten,” Frank said.
PFC Dent was stationed…
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