[AFRICAN AMERICAN]. A real photo postcard of an unidentified Black WWI soldier. Circa 1917. Unposted, tiny pin hole with old string for hanging. According to the National Archives, in 1917 over 700,000 African-Americans registered for military service, however, only 380,000 African-Americans served during WWI with about 200,000 sent to Europe. Blacks were barred from the Marines and aviation units of the Army, serving only menial roles in the Navy. The government made no provision for military training of Black officers and soon segregated them into training camps for that purpose. A regiment of Black troops arrived in France in 1917 to help assist the French Army, earning a reputation from the Germans as “Hell Fighters” because the regiment never lost a man through capture, lost a trench or a foot of ground to the enemy. This regiment, also known as the 369th United States Infantry or “Harlem Hell Fighters”, received the Croix de Guerre medal for their heroic actions at Maison-en-Champagne.