Strong, resilient, and brave is what many would call the Harlem Hellfighters. The Harlem Hellfighters, who were also named 369th Infantry Regiment, a nickname given tot he 369th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army during WWI. They were also the first to fight in on French soil during the war and their name was given by German soilders. 

The Hellfighters called Spartanburg, SC home in October 1917, which is where they recieved their training at called Camp Wadsworth. The Regiment traveled to Camp Wadsworth in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where they received combat training that was set up similar to the French battlefields. While at Camp Wadsworth they experienced significant racism from the local communities and from other units. This army camp was one of Americas premier army mobilization centers and is know a memorial to the 100,000 men who trained there. Camp Wadsworth became a tremendous impact in Spartanburg and conintues to teach locals today on the great safricice the Harlem Hellfighters did for America. While at Camp Wadsworth they experienced significant racism from the local communities and from other units. There was one incident in which two soldiers from the 15th Regiment, Lieutenant James Reese Europe and Noble Sissle, were refused by the owner of a shop when they attempted to buy a newspaper. Several soldiers from the white 27th Division came to aid their fellow soldiers. Lieutenant Europe had commanded them to leave before violence erupted. There were many other shops that refused to sell goods to the members of the 15th Regiment, so members of the 27th and 71st Divisions told the shop owners that if they did not serve black soldiers that they could close their stores and leave town (African American Registry).

Most of the Harlem Fighters were African American, they also recruited a dozen Puerto Ricans, and another dozen of Afro-Puerto Ricans. 18 Puerto Ricans recruited for the regimental band, about a dozen Afro-Puerto Ricans from New York joined or were drafted into this regiment. These men saw their first and longest service of any American regiment as part of a foreign army, even with less training than any American unit before going into action. Unlike most black units, the 369th saw combat because it was placed under French command. Due to the high casualties suffered by the French Army since 1914, losing a whole generation of men by the end of the war, and because they were fighting in their own country, the French command was no longer squeamish about who they allowed to fight to save France from defeat (Centro De Estudios Puertorriqueño).