Who are these WWII black soldiers?

More than two years ago, I came across a black and white photo of African American soldiers from World War II whom I wanted to identify. A reader saw the photo and recognized one of the soldiers, all Tuskegee Airmen.

Recently, I got an email from another reader who had come across a similar photo showing African American soldiers standing in front of a barracks. She had taken the photo to several antiques shops hoping they could tell her something about the men in uniform.

“I have been trying to get it appraised but no antique shops can tell me for sure what war it’s from or how much it is worth,” she wrote. “Someone said they think it is ww2.

“My photo is black and white and it’s rolled up because it’s extremely long,” she wrote. “The picture looks very similar to the one of yours of the 10 men standing in uniform. … the uniform they are wearing is the same and it looks like the same time period. The soldiers’ names are all written on to the picture as well as the words ‘camp ark 392.'”

The woman – Michelle, who lives in Michigan – wanted help in identifying the photo, and intrigued, I offered my assistance. I was also curious about how she came across it.

“My dad bought an enclosed trailer for hauling equipment and while my uncle was feeling around a ledge up top he pulled out this picture,” she wrote.

Michelle sent me copies of the photo, which measured 8″ x 46.” Some of the men’s ranks and first and last names were inked over their individual photos. The words “392 Eng, Camp Robinson, Ark.,” was written below the name of a Sgt. Arthur Wall.

With a camp name, I started researching via Google, and found that the men may have belonged to the 92nd Infantry Division or the 392nd General Service Regiment, both of which were stationed at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock during World War II. Here’s what I found about both units:

The 92nd Infantry Division was known as the Buffalo Soldiers, taking the name from one given black troops by Native Americans nearly 100 years before. The original 92nd was organized in 1917 and had fought in France during World War I. It was re-activated in 1942, and soldiers were trained at Fort McClellan, AL; Camp Atterbury, IN; Camp Breckinridge, KY, and Camp Robinson.

The unit’s mascot was a buffalo on an olive background on a circular shoulder patch, and its official publication was called “The Buffalo.”

The 92nd was the last division of the segregated Army. The enlisted men and most of the junior officers were African Americans, but the senior officers were white. The division consisted of 12,000 soldiers.

The soldiers trained at Camp Robinson until May 1943, then left for Fort Huachuca, AZ, for more training. The division ended up in Italy in the summer of 1944 and was the only black division engaged in combat in Europe, as part of the Fifth Army. Most black soldiers were involved in construction or supply details or other similar work. The soldiers of the 92nd were mostly Southerners who had endured insults both in training and in the service, and did not receive adequate training.

For their efforts, they were awarded some of the Army’s top medals, and several – including Capt. Charles F. Gaudy Jr. of Washington, DC – were cited for their bravery against the Germans.

The “392 Eng”: This may refer to the 392 Engineer General Service Regiment. From Camp Robinson, the unit was sent to Camp Claiborne in Louisiana and then to Camp Shanks in New York. It apparently was an African American regiment that like other such regiments helped to build and repair bridges, roads and other structures in Europe during the war. 

My research also took me to the 2008 Spike Lee movie “Miracle at St. Anna,” about four 92nd Infantry Buffalo Soldiers holed up in an Italian village in Tuscany in 1944 – a movie that I had seen and now had found an historical connection.

Were the soldiers in the photo part of the 92nd or the 392 Engineers? I don’t know, but I’m sure some World War II history buff has the answer for both me and Michelle. That person also may know the value of the photo.

Can you help identify the men more precisely?