Bouser

Photo Courtesy of Shannon Kelly

A grave marker, flanked by both an American and French flag, rests in the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri. The name on the marker is Myrl Billings. Billings was a Springfield native African American who fought in World War I with the 369th Regiment of the New York National Guard. He was the only African American soldier from Springfield to receive the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action during World War I.


Myrl Billings joined the 369th Regiment of the New York National Guard shortly after America’s entry into the war. The regiment trained in the New York Area and shipped off to Europe in December of 1917. After it arrived overseas Gen. John J. Pershing assigned the 369th to the French Army. They became known by the French as the Harlem Hellfighters.

Photo Courtesy of Shannon Kelly

The 369th fought for 191 days on the front line, the longest of any single American unit, and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre as a unit for courageous actions in the war. Individuals within the regiment were also awarded the prestigious medal. Billings received two.

At some point, while on the front line, Billings was injured by poisonous gas and consequently died a little more than a year after returning home to Springfield. However, before his death, Billings succeeded in helping to organize an American Legion Post for black soldiers, the Norval Stafford Post 125 on east Division in Springfield. The Myrl Billings Memorial Veterans Center on Boonville Avenue was also named after him.

Billing’s obituary in the Springfield Republican Newspaper, in November of 1920, read: “… in the latter part of September1918, he and three privates volunteered to silence a troublesome machine gun. They succeeded in doing so, though one of the number was killed. They also succeeded in killing three Germans and capturing four others and destroyed the machine gun nest.”

The French Coix de Guerre medal awarded to Billings along with a certificate can be viewed online through Missouri State University’s Katherine G. Lederer African American History Collection.