Inside | the | House STUDENT NEWS
by ADD SEYMOUR JR.
Men of Morehouse Honor Black WWII Soldiers at Site of Belgian Monument
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ight Men of Morehouse traveled to Belgium in May to honor the memory of soldiers known as the “Wereth 11,” the only African American unit to receive a monument in Europe for bravery in battle against the Nazis. The Wereth 11 were part of a World War II segregated unit that provided artillery support during the Battle of the Bulge. In December 1944, when the 11 men became separated from their comrades in the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, a Belgium family gave them refuge. Nazi fighters later found the black soldiers and killed them. At part of a Nations Builders trip, Morehouse scholars visited the monument to learn more about the Wereth 11 and meet some of their descendants, as well as descendants of those who gave the
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Americans safety. At the site, Morehouse students honored the fallen soldiers in a special ceremony. “It was very eye-opening and important for us to get that story out,” said history major Jarod Harper. The Morehouse delegation also served as American ambassadors to young people in a Belgium, where the chief option for fighting oppression and marginalization is joining extremist terrorist organizations. The cultural exchange began when a group of young people from Belgium visited Morehouse during Founder’s Week to learn about Martin Luther King Jr., the American civil and human rights movement, and Morehouse College. M
It was a very eye-opening experience and important for us to get that story out.”
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— JAROD HARPER, HISTORY MAJOR