"KIMBALL WAR MEMORIAL ONE OF FEW FOR BLACK SOLDIERS" SOURCE: Bluefield Daily Telegraph 1-31-99 BY: Bill Archer On U.S. Route 52 North, about eight miles south of Welch, there is a unique geological feature. Just a few feet from Kimball town limits, the Pocahontas No.3 coal seam plunges toward the earth's core. Only a few feet past the westward most visable point on the No.3 seam, stands the only war memorial ever erected to honor African American veterans of World War I. The Kimball War Memorial was dedicated on February 11, 1928. In recent years, it has fallen on hard times. Until recent years, the United States has had an uneasy relationship with its black fighting men. After relying heavily on African American soldiers to turn the tide in the American Civil War, black troops were sent way out west to fight the Indian Wars and remained essentially out of sight until they were called on to fight in the Spanish American War. America needed fighting men when Congress and President Woodrow Wilson committed troops to fight against the Kai- ser's German forces in World War I. "There was a little reluctance everywhere." Joe Bundy said. Bundy is a noted African American historian and director of the Bluefield based Afro ppalachian Performance Co. "Because America was segregated, there was reluctance on the part of the government to send men of different races into battle together." Bundy said. There was also reluc- tance on the part of the black community to send soldiers to fight for a nation that wanted to keep them down. "It was really W.E.B. DuBois who unified the black com- munity behind the war effort," Bundy said. He wrote an opinion piece in "Crisis" magazine urging blacks to support the war in Europe and to take care of things here at home when we got back. The U.S. was unprepared when it entered the war on April 6, 1917. At the start of the war, there were only about 126,000 Americans in uniform. A draft was organ- ized and called all men between the ages of 21 and 30. In 1918, the draft age was expanded to include males aged 18 through 45. By the end of the war, an estimated five million men and women -dough boys- were seving in the U.S. Army. Blacks represented about 12.5 percent (404,348) of the army's total fighting strength, and because of dis- crimination in the ranks they weren't deployed early on in units. However, units like the New York 15th, an African American National Guard unit that served under the French Army, were among the most decorated of any units in the fighting. Only 195,302 African Americans served overseas. When the Armistice was signed, the 15th New York, that had become the 369th U.S. Army infantry led the parade in Paris," Bundy said. He has done extensive study on the 15th, and is in great demand as a Chautauqua per- former for his presentation of Jim Europe, band leader of the 369th regimental band. "The 369th was under fire for 191 days," Bundy said. "That was the most of any unit that fought in the war." "Some of them are sleeping in unknown graves," former West Virginia Governor Dr. Henry D. Hatfield said in his speech at the dedication of the Kimball War Memorial. "Some are maimed and crippled. And some have returned to the industrial firing line and are doing their bit to add to what their ancestors have done in the way of bla- zing a path of programs in industrial development." Hatfield praised the McDowell County Commission for "building this monument in memory of the living and dead to the colord people of the greatest coalfield in the world." An estimated 15,000 African Americans from McDowell County served in World War I. While compensation for coal miners was modest in those days, it was equal, and African American coal miners of McDowell County enjoyed most equal status with their white counterparts in terms of economic and political clout. Hatfield, who had just announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, was the keynote speaker at the dedication. However, the dais was packed with luminaries from through- out the region including "Daily Telegraph" publisher Hugh Ike Shott, architect H.T. Hicks from Welch, Beno Howard, McDowell Prosecutor, Captain G.E. Ferguson, the only black captain from West Virginia who served in World War I, and several others. Hatfield said all the soldiers in World War I have brought to pass the dreams that were first ralized that all the great and good and wise and just have made since the beginning that this should be a land of free men where the voice and vote should count alike and God should be worshipped in keeping with the individual conscience." The entire text of Hatfield's speech was reprinted in the February 12, 1928 edition of the Telegraph. We may erect monuments, dedicate temples and pronounce words of prraise, but there is no language to express the debt we owe," Hatfield said. "Where the voice and vote of the rich and poor are counted just the same, if indi- vidual independence is to be maintained, and under the folds of our flag is a nation without serf, a servant or a slave. All men aree free and equal in the world of trade, commerce and achievements." Hatfield was a native of Logan County, and nephew of Devil Anse Hatfield. After receiving his degree as a medical doctor, he came to practice medicine in McDowell County in 1895, for the (then) Norfolk and Western Railway. His first office was in Eckman, and in 1913, he was elected health commissioner in McDowell County. Hatfield, a Republican, defeated Governor Howard M. Gore for his party's nomination. He won the election, but only held the U.S. Senate seat one term, losing to Rush D. Holt. Hatfield was the last West Virginia Re- publican to hold a U.S. Senate seat. The seat he held is now held by U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller IV. The Telegraph praised the memorial and detailed its construction. "There is a small room that is likely to be one of the most interesting corners of the building," according to the newspaper article. "It is the tophy room. Here are already some relics of the World War, under the glass case." The dedication program began at 1:30 p.m. with opening remarks by R. E. Black. Several black public schools performed selections nd the Rev. Q. A. Connally gave the opening prayers. Hassel T. Hicks, the architect, pre- sented the building to Howard, the representative of the county court. Hicks, a Virginia Military Institute graduate, was a native of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, who had come to the coalfields following World War I to work as a highway engineer for Mingo County. After one year in Williamson, he started his own archi- tectural firm, and moved to Welch in 1924. Among his many accomplishments as an architect are the municipal parking building in Welch, the first of its kind in the U.S. as well as the Kimball War Memorial. In his biography at VMI, Hicks wrote: "Designer for the first World War Memorial to Colored in U.S. erected at Kim- ball." Another of Hick's memorable structures is the Williamson Chamber of Commerce building made entirely out of blocks of coal. "I am not ashamed of the monuments that I have erected," Hicks wrote of his career. "Some day, I will add to this statement." The War Memorial was dedicated on the second birthday of Hick's only son, Hassel Thomas Hicks, Jr. His son, Hassel Thomas Hicks III, is helping with present day efforts to restore the war memorial. From the day of its dedication, the Kimball War Memorial served as a focal point of the community. The meeting rooms were used by the Luther-Patterson Post of the American Legion, and many schools used the top floor auditorium for dances. By the late 1970's, the memorial was falling into disuse, and by 1980, it was all but aban- doned. A fire about eight years ago gutted the building, but a grassroots group led by Kimball Mayor Jack Premo and James Eubanks of the Luther-Patterson Post as well as Dr. Sheila Brooks has been making progress in raising funds to restore the building. Although the funds are coming in slowly, interest is growing for the service held at the Memorial each Memorial Day and Veterans Day.