93rd Infantry Division ( United States ) The 93rd Infantry Division was a " colored " segregated unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II . During tough combat in France it soon acquired from the French the nickname " Blue Helmets " . This referred to the service of several of its units with the French Army during the Second Battle of the Marne . Consequently , its shoulder patch became a blue French Adrian helmet , to commemorate its service with the French Army during the Spring Offensive . The division was reactivated as infantry on 15 May 1942 at Fort Huachuca , Arizona , and shipped overseas in 1944 . Most of the division did see service in the Pacific Theater during World War II , but the division ' s regiments were mainly utilized as construction units and in defensive operations . In 1945 , the 93rd Infantry Division was inactivated , though the lineage of several of its units are carried on by the Illinois and Maryland Army National Guard . World War I . The 93rd was known initially as the 93rd Division ( Provisional ) . When it was fully formed , the unit became known as the 93rd Division ( Colored ) and was composed of the following regiments : 185th Brigade ( Infantry ) 186th Brigade ( Infantry ) The division was activated in December 1917 and sent to France ; however , the troops never fought together as a division . Over the objections of the division ' s commander , Brig . Gen . Roy Hoffman ( appointed 15 December 1917 ) , its brigades were broken up and the regiments brigaded with French Army formations . They were issued French equipment and arms but wore US uniforms ; the " blue hat " nickname is derived from the blue - painted " Casque Adrian " helmets they wore . Each regiment was brigaded with French forces for three time periods : 1 to 21 July 1918 ; from 1 August 1918 ; and from 24 October 1918 to the armistice : The regiments that later formed the 93rd were originally sent to France to be converted into badly needed labor units . However , the outcry by African - American leaders including W . E . B . DuBois and A . Philip Randolph forced the US to reconsider . The alternative would be the potential loss of needed African - American recruits for labor and service units . Four independent regiments were chosen to assume the designations of the 93rd ( Provisional ) Infantry Division ' s regiments ( 369th , 370th , 371st , and 372nd Infantry ) . The problem was , where to place them ? The main American Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) refused to have African - American soldiers in combat . Ironically , the commander of the AEF , Gen . John " Black Jack " Pershing had earned his nickname and reputation as an officer in the 10th Cavalry , then still a black Buffalo Soldier regiment . While Pershing was an early supporter of having " colored " soldiers in the military , he seems to have bowed to political expediency in this case . The British already had several American divisions under their command . This was due to a deal struck with the American armed forces , which had no transport fleet when they entered the war . The United Kingdom and their Commonwealth allies would transport six American divisions by sea to Europe . Then the American divisions would be folded into British Corps . The French had a similar deal where they exchanged the Americans ' 3 " cannon for early - model French 75mm cannon to simplify the supply of ammunition and Chauchat light machineguns to replace their scarce Lewis Gun s . In return , they demanded that American troops be placed under their command to replace their early - war losses . Combat chronicle . The regiments fought in several battles alongside French troops , who were already used to colonial North and Sub - Saharan African " colored " soldiers ( " noirs " ) . All regiments acquitted themselves well and received unit citations from the French . Numerous individual soldiers exhibited extraordinary heroism and were highly decorated by the French . One of these was Cpl . Freddie Stowers , who decades after his death would be awarded the American Medal of Honor . The division ' s shoulder patch , with its blue French Adrian helmet , commemorated this period . Total casualties from all regiments were 3 , 534 ( killed - in - action 467 ; wounded - in - action 3 , 067 ) . The Red Hand Division . In May 1918 , French General Mariano Goybet was ordered to command the French 157th Infantry Division , which had been decimated after the Third Battle of the Aisne . On 4 July 1918 , it was reconstituted by putting together the 333rd Infantry Regiment ( French ) with two of the U . S . 93rd ' s regiments — the 371st and 372nd . General Goybet took special notice of the fact this was the first 4 July to be celebrated by his now Franco - American Division . The rebuilt 157th Division participated in the Second Battle of the Marne . With violent attacks , General Goybet broke the enemy front at Monthois , capturing many prisoners and a considerable amount of materiel in the process . Afterward , he occupied the Vosges , re - capturing Sainte Marie les Mines . General Order No . 234 ( 8 October 1918 ) : Freddie Stowers . The bravery of the soldiers in the 371st and 372nd during this period has gained more recognition over time . In 1991 , Freddie Stowers , a corporal in the 371st , posthumously received the Medal of Honor for actions taken in September 1918 , becoming the only African - American soldier to do so for World War I service . His two surviving sisters , Georgina and Mary , received the medal in a ceremony at the White House from President George H . W . Bush . Henry Lincoln Johnson . Served with the 369th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) aka " Harlem Hellfighters " . Awarded the DSC World War II . Commanders . In August 1944 , Major General Harry H . Johnson , the former commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division , assumed command of the Division , relieving Major General Lehman , who had returned to the United States for medical reasons . He would lead the division through the remainder of the war , including the New Guinea - Philippines campaign . Combat chronicle . An advance party of the 93rd Infantry Division arrived at Guadalcanal on 29 January 1944 . The rest of the division landed between 6 February and 5 March , one regiment disembarking at the Russell Islands on 7 February . The bulk of the division engaged in training , labor and security duties on Guadalcanal and the Treasury Islands from 7 June and both Hollandia and Dutch New Guinea from 30 October . Component units performed similar duties on Wake Island from 20 January to 2 October 1945 , on Finschhafen from 12 October 1944 to 31 March 1945 , on Los Negros from 29 September 1944 to 16 March 1945 , and on Blak from 10 October 1944 to 1 October 1945 . The division ' s combat elements moved to Bougainville Island on 28 March 1944 , and were attached to the Americal Division on the 30th . On that date they entered combat , assisting in attacks on the enemy perimeter . These elements , including the 25th RCT , reconnoitered across the Laruma River on 2 April , and in the Torokina River Valley from 7 – 12 April 1944 . The 25th RCT operated against the Japanese along the Kuma and East - West Trails during May 1944 . The combat team left for the Green Islands during May and June . The 93d Rcn . Troop , attached to the XIV Corps , remained to raid , patrol , and maintain perimeter positions . The troop began training 12 September 1944 , and moved to Finschhafen on 1 November . Security patrols had scattered contacts with the enemy at Urapas from 3 to 15 January 1945 , at Wardo from 6 November - 22 December , and at Wari on 31 December . The security detachments at Wardo and Wari were withdrawn on 9 – 10 February 1945 . Almost all of the Division occupied Morotai , Dutch New Guinea , from 4 April to 21 October 1945 . Scattered skirmishes occurred along the northwestern sector of the island . The 93rd continued its labor and security missions . It occupied Sansapor from 5 April to 10 July 1945 , Middleburg Island from 5 April to 7 October 1945 , and Noemfoor Island from 13 April to 7 June 1945 . The Division then moved to Zamboanga , Philippine Islands , where it remained from 1 July 1945 to 7 January 1946 . Patrols encountered light resistance until the end of hostilities , 15 August 1945 . Palawan was occupied from 2 July to 5 December 1945 , Jolo from 1 July to 2 October 1945 , and Sanga - Sanga from 3 July 1945 to 6 January 1946 . The Division arrived at Mindanao on 9 October 1945 , moved to Tacloban , Leyte on 13 January 1946 , and left for home , 17 January 1946 . Leonard E . Dowden . While on Jolo on 17 July 1945 , a patrol from the 368th was ambushed by a Japanese force three times its size . When the firefight began , Sergeant Leonard E . Dowden moved his squad to within 30 yards of the enemy . He then crawled forward alone to assault a machine - gun position with grenades , despite being gravely wounded . He would be killed by a burst of fire as he was about to throw a grenade . The patrol was able to fight off the enemy attack with only 18 casualties . For the extraordinary heroism that cost him his life , Staff Sergeant Dowden received the Distinguished Service Cross . Originally from New Orleans , Louisiana , Staff Sergeant Dowden was the only member of the 93rd Infantry Division to earn the DSC during the war . Morotai . For the remainder of the war , the division would find itself fighting on Morotai . In April 1945 , the division conducted intensive patrols with the aim of destroying the remaining Japanese forces on the island . At this time most of the Japanese on Morotai were located along the island ' s west coast , and generally stayed close to native gardens . The 93rd Division landed patrols along Morotai ' s west and north coasts from late April onwards , and these fought scattered skirmishes with small Japanese forces . One of the division ' s main goals was to capture Colonel Ouchi , commander ot the 211th Regiment , 32nd Division . , and this was achieved by a patrol from the 25th Infantry Regiment on 2 August 1945 . Ouchi was the highest ranked Japanese officer to be captured before the end of the war . End of the war . After the Japanese capitulation in August 1945 , the division secured the surrender of 41 , 000 Japanese troops and civilians on Morotai and the nearby Halmahera islands of the Dutch East Indies . Included were 37 , 000 troops , of whom 5 , 000 were in a naval force and 4 , 000 were civilians . The surrender was accepted on Morotai by Major General Johnson . Lt . General Ishii , the commander of the IJA 32nd Division and the senior surviving officer in the area , surrendered the Japanese Army forces to the 93rd after he was brought to Morotai on a U . S . Navy PT boat . After the signing Ishii asked Maj . General Johnson if he and his officers would be allowed to retain their samurai swords . Johnson refused and afterwards commented ,