The 369th Infantry Regiment began as the 15th New York (Colored) Infantry Regiment of the National Guard. It was officially organized in June 1916 in New York City, composed of Black enlisted men with both Black and white officers. Governor Charles Whitman appointed Col. William Hayward (a white former Nebraska NG officer) to command the unit, and Hayward set high standards for integrated leadership and respect. Recruitment efforts focused on Harlem’s African American community – at the time, ab