Colored Troops Honored

From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, February 20, 1919: More than 200 returning colored soldiers were honored last night by Gov. Goodrich, Mayor Jewett, friends, and relatives at a home coming welcome held at Tomlinson Hall. The mayor praised the soldiers for their loyalty and the governor paid tribute to the acts of bravery of the soldiers and said they were among the first troops crossing the Rhine. Henry Butler, Russell Owen and William Crowel, the first black soldiers to return to Indianapolis from France, were formally presented to the audience. Corporal Owen had been wounded on the front lines. The Indianapolis Choral Study Club gave a patriotic musical program with the audience joining in. Proceeding the meeting, the soldiers paraded through downtown streets escorted by black fraternal groups - the Knights of Pythias, Clay’s Military Band, and the Masonic Band.

“Colored Troops Honored,” The Indianapolis Star, 20 February 1919, p. 9:3

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