Officers in the U.S. Army.

Photograph of Frank Gilmore and three other service companions Stateside. From the service of Pfc. Frank Gilmore, Battery B, 341st Field Artillery Regiment, 164th Field Artillery Brigade, 89th Division, AEF

During World War I, thousands of African American men answered their country's call and joined the armed services. Though segregation policies at the time followed them into the military, the service of African Americans during the war broke barriers and challenged the heart of racist policies in the military and beyond.