WWI 1918 First US Army AFRICAN AMERICAN Photograph BLACK SOLDIERS France A.E.F.

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WWI 1918 First US Army AFRICAN AMERICAN Photograph BLACK SOLDIERS France A.E.F. :
$2500.00

Updated listing here. I thought this photo was best categorized as a militaria item, so I had it posted in ’s WWI Collectibles section. I got scolded via messages from ers there, saying my description was wrong, it’s a common item, depicts laborers not combat troops, etc., and on top of everything, it’s not even identified.

Hopefully, I now have the item listed more acceptably in this category: Collectibles, Ethnic & Cultural Collectibles, Black Americana Collectibles, Collectible Black Americana Photos. Maybe ers here will see the item through a positive lens, at least thinking of Rev. Jackson’s “I am Somebody!” and Black Lives Matter.

I thought I’d sufficiently identified the photograph as depicting African American troops in the First U.S. Army of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.). This is obvious because of the distinctive “A” shoulder sleeve insignia of the First Army. It’s the earliest, block style “A”, which dates the item to circa Nov., 1918, and locates it, in France.

Since that apparently doesn’t qualify as identification, I’m guessing what militaria collectors want are photos with printing on them that specifies things. Those would be like mass-produced press photos sent to newspapers and magazines with markings on the back, yard long photos w/ markings on the front, or what have you.

If a man was in the First Army, as these men are, they were part of that field army. We had two other field armies as well. The First Army was inactivated in April, 1919. Due to General Orders No. 26 and 28, everyone in the First Army was required to wear the “A” shoulder sleeve insignia, circa November, 1918.

I’ve been told by ers that African American combat troops in World War One didn’t wear the “A” and instead wore other insignia such as the buffalo patch associated w/ the 92nd Division. So, I researched it and found that’s incorrect since men in the 167th Field Artillery Brigade of the 92nd (Buffalo Soldiers) didn’t wear the buffalo patch.

Then, I looked at the various units in that brigade, and happened to find that the white captain in the front row of the photo here is the spitting image of the man in the front row in another (stateside training camp) photo that I saw online of the 350th Field Artillery Regiment, which was part of the 167th Field Artillery Brigade of the 92nd Division. The Captain was George K. Livermore.

I believe the militaria collectors I heard from don’t want my identification, rather need markings on the photograph itself. So, what I’m saying here may not mean anything, and really it’s just what I think. I can’t conclusively explain why some of the men have no “A” patch, why they range from having no service chevron to one to even two, or why they would pose with Enfield rifles instead of artillery.

New things were always being introduced, so I assume this photo is from that moment in time when the “A” patch had just become an order. They also kept changing things when it came to chevrons. I saw a picture online of the program book for the Aug., 1942 reunion of a similar group, WWI’s 351st Field Artillery Regiment of the 167th, w/ an illustrated cover depicting just a black WWI soldier holding his rifle.

Circa Nov., 1918, all of these men should have been eligible for one chevron but some have none and some have as many as two. I can’t prove the stripe colors. Maybe they’re for (prior) service at home, or maybe not and some of these men were previously in other units and transferred (reassignment, being lent, filling of ranks, etc.).

Right or wrong, I’ve shared my thoughts here. If I’m wrong and this isn’t Livermore and his men or another African American combat unit, then what you’re buying is a photo of victims of racism: perfectly capable soldiers such as Sergeants and sharpshooters who weren’t permitted to fight because of the color of their skin.

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