Honoring Memorial Day: A Personal and Historical Reflection

Periodically, I write about United States history through the lens of genealogy. I find it to be a meaningful way to contextualize the two decades-plus of family history research I've embarked on since I started learning of my family tree orally from my elders. This morning, I'm reflecting on Memorial Day with a tribute to a fallen ancestor, Overton Carter, who died in France in October 1918 while serving the U.S. Army in World War I.

This particular ancestor was born on September 20, 1891, in Nashville, Tennessee, to his father, Robert P. Carter, 33, and his mother, Harriet (Overton) Carter, 30. He attended Fisk University around 1910-1914 and later found a profession as a bookkeeper at the One Cents Savings Bank in North Nashville. A few Black Nashville newspaper articles depict him as an upstanding community member, and his civil service registration card describes him as tall, slender, with brown eyes and black hair. I'm still searching for photos of Overton Carter and hope that the Fisk Special Collections of yearbooks or this precious Library of Congress site of WWI images of unidentified Black soldiers might hold promise.

Overton Carter registered for the draft in 1917, trained for several weeks at Camp Upton in Long Island, NY after conscription, and departed to France on June 10, 1918, aboard a brand new ship, the Orizaba, that embarked from a military port in Hoboken, New Jersey. Unfortunately, he died on October 23, 1918, in France at the age of 27, and was buried that winter in his hometown of Nashville, TN.

While I haven't been able to find out if Overton Carter died in battle or died of illness (remember, the Spanish Flu decimated many people during this time), the fact is he sacrificed his life in service to this country. Either way, his loss to our family and to his community was immense. Drafted as a private, in the short time that he served he was promoted to corporal. That tells me he demonstrated leadership skills that were recognized by his superiors. I also note that he attended college at a time when many African American's did not and could not. The fact that Nashville had a plethora of historically black colleges at this time certainly helped many of my family members beat the odds and access higher education.

An only child who never married and had no heirs, family oral history contends that his widowed mother, (and my great-great-aunt) Harriet Overton, was so broken-hearted by his death that her health soon failed and she, too, died a few years later. Sadly, Overton Carter's premature death ended this family line. Mother and son are buried together in a plot at the historic Black cemetery, Mt. Ararat in Nashville, TN. To have been born enslaved, faced untold obstacles during Reconstruction and after, and built a small family despite it all, only to have her only child pass away overseas must have been overwhelming for Aunt Harriet.

Now for the broader history lesson . . .When war broke out in Europe in 1914, Americans were generally reluctant to get involved. The United States tried to remain neutral and only declared war when Germany renewed oceanic attacks that negatively affected international shipping in April 1917. African Americans--who have participated in every military conflict since the inception of the United States--enlisted and prepared for involvement in droves. They saw it as a way to prove their citizenship, and likely for some, as a way to travel and see another part of the world. However, most of those who enlisted found themselves relegated to non-combat support roles. By and large, African Americans were only allowed to serve under the Services of Supply section of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). This AEF section was comprised of the stevedore, logistical labor, and engineering service battalions and companies. These are critical roles and you can't fight without people to support and provide materials to other companies along the front. The fact that they were not in combat positions did not diminish their service. However, the segregation was wrong and an affront to the bravery of these soldiers. Their forced exclusion from the front lines accounts for the fact that although hundreds of thousands of African Americans served in WWI, only about 770 lost their lives in combat.

There are a few notable exceptions to segregation on the front lines of WWI. The soldiers who were in the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions--particularly, the 369th Infantry Regiment known as the Harlem Hellfighters--were assigned to the French Army in April 1918. In this assignment, the Hellfighters saw intense action fighting in the Second Battle of the Marne as well as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Through it all, they NEVER surrendered a trench or lost a soldier to capture despite almost 200 days of continuous fighting with poor replacement of personnel and purposely limited supplies. This Infantry Regiment is rightfully and highly celebrated in France and in the U.S. For example, for his valiant and brave actions as part of the Hellfighters during World War I, Private Henry Johnson became the first American to receive the Criox de Guerre. An additional 170 members of the 369th were also awarded this French medal of honor. Facts.

On this Memorial Day, I honor the legacy of Overton Carter, and all the unsung fallen heroes like him.