RED HAND FLAG
AIRED: Season 6, Episode 2
THE DETECTIVE: Elyse Luray
THE PLACE: Columbia, South Carolina
THE CASE:
During her last active duty posting with the Army at Ft. Jackson, a Desert Storm veteran from South Carolina learned about a local, all-but-forgotten African-American infantry regiment in WWI.
Years later, she purchased a worn red-white-red striped flag with a red felted hand sewn in the center and small U.S. flags sewn in the corner.
Our contributor would like to know if her flag was carried into battle by one of the few African-American infantry regiments that fought in WWI under the command of the French.
These unsung heroes of the Great War exhibited extraordinary heroism in battle and were highly decorated.
If this particular flag has French origins, though, why is it red-white-red-striped and not blue-white-red like the tricolor flag?
History Detectives investigates whether this flag can be linked to the legacy of the Red Hand Division and its wartime triumphs.
Feature: African-Americans in Combat
African-Americans have fought for the United States throughout its history, defending and serving a country that in turn denied them their basic rights as citizens. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that they began to receive the recognition they deserved.
Think you have a case for the History Detectives? Send us your mystery here. 