addened by their lists of dead and
finally have seen the survivors come home; have seen them cheered and
feted as no men of their race ever were cheered and feted before.

Much of the nation's pride in them was due to the fact that it knew them
as fighting men; at least as men who were organized for fighting
purposes before the war. When they marched away and sailed we had
confidence in them; were proud of their appearance, their spirit, their
willingness to serve. The country felt they would not fail to clothe
with luster their race and maintain the expectations of them. That they
fulfilled every expectation and more; had come back loaded with honors;
finer, manlier men than ever, increased the nation's pride in them.

Now we come to a contemplation of the other class; the men who knew
nothing of military life or military matters; who, most of them, wished
to serve but never dreamed of getting the opportunity. Many of them
employed in the cotton fields or residing in the remote corners of the
country, hardly knew there was a war in progress. Some of them realized
that events out of the ordinary were transpiring through the suddenly
increased demand for their labor and the higher wages offered them. But
that Uncle Sam would ever call them to serve in his army and even to go
far across seas to a shadowy--to them, far off land, among a strange
people; speaking a strange language, had never occurred to most of them
even in dreams.

Then all of a sudden came the draft summons. The call soon penetrated to
the farthest nooks of our great land; surprised, bewildered but happy,
the black legions began to form.

It already has been noted that with the exception of the 371st regiment,
which went to the 93rd Division, the selectives who saw service in the
fighting areas, were all in the 92nd Division. This was a complete
American division, brigaded with its own army, commanded through the
greater part of its service by Major General Ballou and towards the end
by Major General Martin.

While the 92nd Division as a whole, did not get into the heavy fighting
until the last two weeks of the war, individual units had a taste of it
earlier. Service which the division as a whole did see, was some of the
most severe of the war. The Negroes of the country may well be proud of
the organization, for its record was good all the way through and in the
heavy fighting was characterized by great gallantry and efficiency.

One of the outstan