Panoramic photographic print of D Company, 369th regiment at Camp Merritt
date: label: Date
content: 1917
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Cpl. Lawrence Leslie McVey, Sr., American, 1897 - 1968
label: Subject of
content: 369th Infantry Regiment, American, 1913 - 1945
notes: label: Caption
content: Corporal Lawrence McVey served with the 369th Infantry Company D during World War I, fighting in the Battles of Champagne-Marne Defensive, Meuse-Argonne Offensive, D’Afrique and Calvin Defensive Sectore. Due to racial tension within the US Army, the 369th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the French Army for the duration of US involvement in World War I. Formed from the 15th New York National Guard Regiment and nicknamed the “Harlem Hellfighters,” the 369th was the first African American regiment to reach the battlefields of World War I and the first Allied troops to reach the banks of the Rhine. Upon completion of the 369th’s service in the war, the regiment had spent 191 days in combat, the longest of any American regiment. In appreciation for their actions in the Maison-en-Champagne campaign, the 369th was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government for acts of bravery in conflicts against the enemy. In addition to this honor, 171 individual members of the 369th Regiment were awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. Corporal McVey was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Purple Heart for bravely leading his squad in an attack against a nest of machine guns at Sechault, September 29, 1918. The 369th Regiment finished their service in Europe and returned to the US in February 1919.
label: Description
content: Panoramic black-and-white photograph of D Company, 369th regiment at Camp Merritt, New Jersey during World War I, owned by Cpl. Lawrence McVey. The photograph is titled, [Co. D. 15th, N.Y. / CAMP MERRITT NJ 1917.]. The Company is pictured in three rows, the top row standing, the middle row kneeling, and the bottom row seated with their knees bent, ankles crossed in front. The men are wearing military uniforms and a few men in the front row are holding their rifles. There are handwritten [x]s above and on top of some of the men in blue and black ink. On the bottom left and right of the image, there is text in white that cannot currently be seen in its condition. Buildings and trees can be seen in the background.
label: Description
content: The photograph had been rolled and is in extremely delicate condition. There are multiple tears and areas of loss throughout. The border is covered in scotch tape that has failed in areas and broken.
place: label: Place captured
content: Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: World War I
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gina R. McVey, Granddaughter
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2011.108.1
objectType: label: Type
content: gelatin silver prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper