Scott’s View: Black History Month & Our Nation’s Veterans

With the close of February next week, we want to take a moment to recognize all the great Americans who served our nation and the spirit of Black History Month.

While history has shown many Blacks have had a role in our military dating back to the birth of our nation, with the 1st Rhode Island Regiment in 1778, their recognition only came later with Medal of Honor recipient William Harvey Carney, followed by 25 others, during the Civil War. We also remember the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black-trained pilots of the U.S. Army Corps.

By the Korean War, Black soldiers now served in all combat service elements and were involved in all major combat operations, and 40 years later they represented 22 percent of the total Army population at the start of the Persian Gulf War (aka Gulf War I).

There are so many firsts along the way, including Michael Langley becoming the first Black 4-star general in the Marine Corps two years ago.

For all of these reasons, we salute all of these great Americans for their service and for the advancement for a stronger and diverse nation.