REMEMBER: THE HELLFIGHTERS OF HARLEM

The above video from PBS shows some rare footage of the 15th Regiment which the European forces nicknamed the Hellfighters during the first World War in 1918.  These men from Harlem were also musicians who helped spread the love of ragtime and jazz around the world but were also the fiercest fighters who received the most medals out of any other infantry.  New York City celebrated the regiment with an unprecedented parade that went from lower 5th Avenue up to Harlem and the entire city welcomed back the hometown heroes. James Reese Europe is also mentioned in the video and was the talented bandleader of the Hellfighters who also had plans to spread jazz around the nation but tragedy would strike a year later.   More on Mr. Europe can be found in our past post: LINK