For the direct uplift and advancement of his race; for the improved standing gained for it in the eyes of other races, the heroism, and steadfastness and the splendid soldierly qualities exhibited by the Negro fighting man, were of immeasurable benefit.  Those were the things which the world heard about, the exemplifications of the great modern forces and factors of publicity and advertising.  In the doing of their “bit” so faithfully and capably, the Negro combatant forces won just title to all the praise and renown which they have received.  Their contribution to the cause of liberty and democracy, cannot be discounted; will shine through the ages, and through the ages grow brighter.

But their contribution as fighting men to the cause of Justice and Humanity was no greater, in a sense than that of their brethren:  “Unwept, unhonored and unsung,” who toiled back of the lines that those at the front might have subsistence and the sinews of conflict.

The most indispensable cog in the great machine which existed behind the lines, was the stevedore regiments, the butcher companies, the engineer, labor and Pioneer battalions, nearly all incorporated in that department of the army technically designated as the S.O.S. (Service of Supply).  In the main these were blacks.  Every Negro who served in the combatant forces could have been dispensed with.  They would have been missed, truly; but there were enough white men to take their places if necessary.  But how seriously handicapped would the Expeditionary forces have been without the great army of Negroes, numbering over 100,000 in France, with thousands more in this country designed for the same service; who unloaded the ships, felled the trees, built the railroad grades and laid the tracks; erected the warehouses, fed the fires which turned the wheels; cared for the horses and mules and did the million and one things, which Negro brawn and Negro willingness does so acceptably.

Theirs not to seek “the bubble reputation at the cannon’s mouth,” that great composed, uncomplaining body of men; content simply to wear the uniform and to know that their toil was contributing to a result just as important as the work of anyone in the army.  Did they wish to fight?  They did; just as ardently as any man who carried a rifle, served a machine gun or a field piece.  But some must cut wood and eat of humble bread, and there came in those great qualities of patience and resignation which makes of the Negro so dependable an asset in all such emergencies.

How shall we describe their chronology or write their log?  They were everywhere in France where they were needed.  As one officer expressed it, at one time it looked as though they would chop down all the trees in that country.  Their units and designations were changed.  They were shifted from place to place so often and given such a variety of duties it would take a most active historian to follow them.  In the maze of data in the War Department at Washington, it would take months to separate and give an adequate account of their operations.