Colonel Charles Young at Fort Des Moines photograph   Save
National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center
Description: Photograph of Colonel Charles Young visiting Fort Des Moines, Iowa en route to San Francisco, California. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking African American officer in the Army. He is known for having been forced into retirement due to health concerns before the start of World War I and later riding from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness for duty. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_OVS18_young
Subjects: African American soldiers; African American men; Military officers; World War I, 1914-1918; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
Places: Des Moines (Iowa)