- Henry Johnson
Henry Johnson was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States. In 1879, Johnson served as a sergeant in Company D of the 9th Cavalry Regiment. From October 2 to October 5 of that year, at Milk River, Colorado, …
- William Othello Wilson
William Othello Wilson (1867 - 1928) was a corporal in the U.S. Army's 9th Cavalry. He is noted for having received the Medal of Honor. He earned the Medal of Honor on December 30, 1890 for "gallantry in action" voluntarily, for successfully carrying a message to the battalion commander at the Pine Ridge Indian Agency in South Dakota.
- Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen was the popular name of a group of African American pilots who flew with distinction during World War II as the 332nd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Corps.
- Colin Powell
General Colin Luther Powell, United States Army (Ret.) (born April 5, 1937) is a former American military leader and statesman. He became the first African-American to be confirmed as United States Secretary of State. As the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-05) under President George W. Bush, Powell became the highest ranking African American government official in the history of the United States.
- John R. Fox
John Robert Fox was killed in action by friendly fire in northern Italy during World War II. He was belatedly awarded the Medal of Honor in 1997. The 92nd Infantry Division (colored), known as the Buffalo Soldiers, is an African-American division that fought in World War II. One of this division’s soldiers, First Lieutenant John R. Fox of the 366th Infantry, made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defeat the enemy and save the lives of his fellow soldiers.
- Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. (December 18, 1912 - July 4, 2002) was an American general, commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. Davis was the first African-American general in the United States Air Force. During World War II Davis was commander of the 332nd Fighter Group, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe. Davis himself flew sixty missions in P-39, P-40, P-47 and P-51 fighters. Davis was born on December 18, 1912, in Washington, D.C..
- George Watson
George Watson Sr. is one of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd Fighter Group. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. On March 29, 2007, Watson attended a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, where he and the other surviving veterans of the Tuskegee Airmen (and their widows) were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service
- George Watson
George Watson was a U.S. Army private who was killed in action during World War II. He was one of seven African-American soldiers to be awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during World War II, and the only one of the seven to earn his medal while serving in the Pacific Theater. A resident of Birmingham, Alabama, He had entered the Army Sept. 1, 1942, and was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 29th Quartermaster Regiment.
- Charles Young
Charles Young was the third African American graduate of West Point, first black U.S. National Park superintendent, first African American military attaché, and highest ranking black officer in the United States Army until his death in 1922.
- Freddie Stowers
Corporal Freddie Stowers (1896 - September 28, 1918) was a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient who fought and died in World War I.
- Vernon Baker
Vernon Joseph Baker (b. December 17, 1919) is a U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient for his heroic actions on April 5-6, 1945 near Viareggio, Italy during World War II. Baker and his platoon killed 26 enemy soldiers and destroyed six machine gun nests, two observer posts and four dugouts.
- Henry Lincoln Johnson
Henry Lincoln Johnson (1897 - July 5 1929) was an American soldier, and recipient of the Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross and French Croix de Guerre. Johnson was born in the South and moved to Albany, New York when he was in his early teens. He worked as a redcap porter at the Albany Union Station on Broadway. Johnson enlisted in the Army June 5, 1917, joining the all-black New York National Guard unit, the 369th Infantry Regiment, based in Harlem.
- Jesse L. Brown
Jesse LeRoy Brown (13 October 1926 - 4 December 1950) was the first African-American naval aviator in the United States Navy. Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Brown enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1946 and was appointed a Midshipman, USN, the following year. After attending Navy pre-flight school and flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in October 1948. Midshipman Brown was then assigned to Fighter Squadron 32.
- Edward A. Carter Jr.
Edward Allen Carter, Jr. 26 May 1916- 30 January 1963) was U.S. Army staff sergeant who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during March 1945 during World War II. He was one of seven African-American soldiers who were belatedly awarded the Medal of Honor on January 13, 1997 by President Bill Clinton.
- Henry Ossian Flipper
Henry Ossian Flipper (March 21, 1856-May 3, 1940) was an American soldier and the first black American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy (West Point) Flipper was born into slavery in Thomasville, Georgia on March 21, 1856, the eldest of five brothers. His mother was a slave of the Reverend Reuben H. Lucky, a Methodist minister, and his father, Festus Flipper, a shoemaker and carriage-trimmer, was slave of Ephraim G. Ponder, a wealthy slave dealer.
- Doris Miller
Doris "Dorie" Miller was an African American cook in the United States Navy and a hero during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest honor that can be awarded by the US Navy, after the Medal of Honor.
- Ruben Rivers
Ruben Rivers was a Staff Sergeant in the the 761<sup>st</sup> Tank Battalion, an African-American tank battalion which served with distinction in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Sgt. Rivers was one of seven African-American soldiers to be awarded the Medal of Honor, although this official recognition of their heroic actions was not made until 1997.
- Alexander Jefferson
Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson is one of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd Fighter Group. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. On March 29, 2007, Jefferson attended a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, where he and the other surviving veterans of the Tuskegee Airmen (and their widows) were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service
- Leon Gilbert
Leon A. Gilbert of York, Pennsylvania was a decorated World War II combat veteran and a lieutenant in the all-Negro 24th Infantry Regiment that fought in the Korean War. His court-martial for refusing to obey an order from the regiment's white commanding officer led to world-wide protests and increased attention to segregation and racism in the U.S. military.
- Roger Terry
- Salem Poor
Salem Poor was a African American soldier who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Born into slavery in Andover, Massachusetts, Poor managed to buy his freedom in 1769 for 27£. Poor soon married a free African American woman named Nancy. In 1775, he enlisted in the militia, serving under Captain Benjamin Ames in Colonel James Fryes' regiment, opposing the British troops stationed in Boston.
- Benjamin O. Davis Sr.
Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. (July 1, 1877 - November 26, 1970) was an American general and the father of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. He was the first African-American general in the U.S. Army. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., was born in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 1877. His biographer Marvin Fletcher (author of "America's First Black General, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., …
- Charles Dryden
Lt Col Charles Dryden (US Air Force, Retired) is one of the Tuskegee Airmen. Dryden earned his wings in 1942, and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia in the U.S.A.
- Edgar Bolden
Edgar Bolden was one of the Tuskegee Airmen. Born June 1, 1921, he died in Portland, Oregon in the U.S.A. on Sunday, March 4th, 2007. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. After the war he pursued a career in aerospace, working at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, and later at RCA in Princeton, New Jersey where he worked on communications satellite systems.
- Charles L. Thomas
Charles Leroy Thomas (17 April 1920-15 February 1980) was United States Army officer who was awarded the awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War II as a first lieutenant in Company C, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Towed). In 1997, Major Thomas was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, 50 years after he retired from the Army. The 614th was attached to the 103rd Infantry Division for much of its time in combat. Lt.
- Vincent Keith Brooks
Vincent Keith Brooks is an American brigadier general, who was the United States Army's Deputy Director of Operations during the War in Iraq. This position again made him visible in the media. He also served as the Chief of Army Public Affairs in the Pentagon. As of June 8, 2006, BG Brooks is the 1st Cavalry Division Deputy Commanding General garrisoned at Fort Hood, Texas.
- Christian Fleetwood
Christian Abraham Fleetwood (July 21, 1840 - September 28, 1914), was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, editor, musician, and government official. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War.
- Willy F. James Jr.
Willy F. James, Jr. was a U.S. Army private first class who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during World War II. He was one of seven African-American soldiers who were belatedly awarded the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton on January 13, 1997.
- Lawrence Joel
Specialist/SFC Lawrence Joel (February 22, 1928-February 4, 1984) was an American military veteran. He served in the U.S. Army in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. While serving in Viet Nam, as a medic assigned to 1st Battalion of the 503rd Infantry in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Joel was awarded the Silver Star and the Medal of Honor for his heroism in a battle with the Viet Cong that occurred on November 8, 1965.
- George Alexander
Staff Sergeant George T. Alexander Jr. (August 1971 - October 22, 2005) was the 2,000th American soldier killed in combat in Iraq since the beginning of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, according to the Associated Press. Alexander, an African-American, died October 22, 2005 at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas after being treated for injuries sustained five days earlier, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M2 Bradley in the city of Samarra.
- Edward Brooke
The first African American elected to the Senate by popular vote, Edward Brooke of Massachusetts served two full terms, from 1967 to 1979. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1919, Brooke graduated from Howard University before serving in the United States Army during World War II. After the war, he received a law degree from Boston University.
- Robert Smalls
Robert Smalls (April 5 1839 - February 23 1915) was an African American slave who became a naval hero at the same time he freed himself and his family in May 1862 from slavery. He was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, United States and became a politician.
- Lloyd Hall
Lloyd Augustus Hall (June 20, 1894 - January 2, 1971) was an African American chemist who contributed to the science of food preservation. By the end of his career, Hall had amassed 59 United States patents, and a number of his inventions were also patented in foreign countries.
- Donnie Cochran
Captain (Retired) Donnie L. Cochran was the first Black aviator assigned to the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels) in 1986. Cochran later assumed command of the Blue Angels in 1994.
- James Anderson Jr.
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JAMES ANDERSON, JR.<br> UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS </center> for service as set forth in the following CITATION: <blockquote> For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a rifleman, Second Platoon, Company F, Second Battalion, Third Marines, Third Marine Division, in Vietnam on 28 February 1967.
- Benjamin Thurman Hacker
Rear Admiral Benjamin Thurman Hacker (1935-2003) was a U.S. Navy officer, who became the first Naval Flight Officer (NFO) to achieve Flag rank.
- Jeanine McIntosh
Jeanine McIntosh was the first African American female in the United States Coast Guard to earn the Coast Guard Aviation Designation. McIntosh joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2003 after graduation for the Coast Guard's Officer Candidate School. She began Coast Guard aviation training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas in January 2005. She earned her wings on June 24, 2005 and was assigned to fly HC-130 Hercules aircraft out of Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii.
- Barry Black
Barry C. Black is the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate. He was elected to this position on June 27, 2003, becoming the first African-American, the first Seventh-day Adventist, and the first military chaplain to hold the office of chaplain to the United States Senate. The Senate elected its first chaplain in 1789. He previously served for over 27 years as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy, …
- John Chavis
John Chavis (c. 1763-1838) was a black educator and Presbyterian minister in the American South during the early 19th century. The exact date of Chavis' birth in not known. It is believed that he has born in either 1762 or 1763. One source claims he was born on October 18, 1763, but with no evidence given. Information about Chavis' early life is scant as well, with few records to document it.
- Prince Hall
Prince Hall (c.1735 - December 4, 1807) is considered the founder of "Black Freemasonry" in the United States, known today as Prince Hall Freemasonry. Prince Hall is claimed to have been born in the British West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados on September 12, 1748, moving to Boston at a later date, sometime before 1775. He was the son of an English leather merchant, and his mother was a free colored woman of French extraction.