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Where did the Harlem Hellfighters first serve after arriving in France?
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Harlem Hellfighters
Members of the 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters) posing with their awards for gallantry in combat.
After arriving in France at the port of Brest in December 1917, the Harlem Hellfighters (then the 15th New York) were sent to Saint-Nazaire. Contrary to expectations of combat, they were initially assigned to perform labor and engineering projects to support the arrival of other U.S. troops. It was only after their commander, William Hayward, successfully appealed for reassignment that the unit was moved to combat duty, eventually being attached to the French Fourth Army in the spring of 1918.1