William H Clark, Sr.

During WWI, 1st Lt. William H Clark of Kansas City, Kansas, served with distinction while deployed to the front lines in France. In a 1965 interview with Marie Ross of the Call Newspaper, Clark recounted the moments leading up to the death of Pt. Wayne Minor of Kansas City, Missouri, the last African American to die during the final hours of the war.

I was commanding the foremost advancing units of Company A, 1st Battalion of the 366th Infantry. Wayne Minor was a private in the First Platoon. I commanded the First and Fourth platoons, 124 strong men .... I made a strong appeal but for a minute or two [for volunteers to carry machine gun ammunition to high ground], no one stepped forward to accept .... When Wayne Minor stepped out, a jump-like feeling accumulated in my throat. He was a highly cultured and courageous soldier, respected by the entire company of 250 men ....

I never saw Wayne Minor again. From my hospital bed at Tours, France, where I was carried after we occupied our first objective, I learned he was killed by bursting shrapnel. I recommended him for the Distinguished Service Cross. Somehow, my captain to whom it was sent, never received it and a brave and sacrificing and deserving soldier did not receive his just reward even posthumously.

Sources: Kansas City Historical Society; Photo courtesy of Joe Louis Maddox