BROCKTON -- Hondon B. Hargrove, the man whose research led to a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross for Army buddy John R. Fox after almost 38 years, believes racism and bureaucratic bungling were reasons the Army tailed to award a medal on time.
Fox's widow. Arlene (Morrow) Fox. 63, of East Street, Brockton, received the medal, the nation's second highest award for valor in combat, a week ago Saturday in special ceremonies at Fort Devens, during Armed Forces Day.
Fox, a 1st lieutenant with the 366th Infantry Regiment, an all-black outfit, and a handful of his men died Dec. 26, 1944, in the village in Sommocolonia, Italy, after the young officer directed an artillery barrage down on their post, slowing the German advance and killing 100 of the enemy.
Hargrove, 65, of Lansing. Mich., recently retired after 28 years on the Michigan Parole Board, discovered back in 1947 while researching a book on the 92nd Infantry (Buffalo) Division, to which the 366th was attached, that Fox's heroism had not been recognized.
Hargrove. a captain in the 597th Field
Artillery during the war, vowed to correct the Army's error and
eventually succeeded.
Hondon B. Hargrove whose research uncovered a military injustice during WW II wears a pendant around his neck symbolizing his membership in the 92nd Infantry (Buffalo) Division, a predominately black enlisted man's outfit.
As related in The Sunday Enterprise of May 16, Hargrove, after years of research, was able to show that Fox's bravery was indisputable, but he was unable to prove that a recommendation had been made within two years of the deed as required by Army regulations.
He found a reference to a recommendation in an Army magazine, but he could not locate the man who wrote the story, for confirmation of the recommendation.
In 1980, Hargrove turned his information over to the Army, and after two years of effort, investigators were able to find the writer, who verified to their satisfaction that the recommendation had existed, although they too were unable to find it. The Army approved the medal in
March this year, acknowledging they could not explain why there had been no decoration at the proper time.
Hargrove says that such oversights in the military are not uncommon, especially when an outfit is involved in the confusion of heavy fighting such as the 92nd Division was, at the time of Fox's death and several months after.
In addition, Fox's bravery was common knowledge among his fellows and so well-publicized by the national media that most assumed he had gotten a medal and there was no reason to become involved:
Hargrove, who holds a masters degree in sociology. also feels that racism played at least an indirect part.
Fox's unit, the 366th Infantry Regiment, was made up entirely of blacks, including officers. The 92nd Division was a black enlisted unit, but the officers were white.
When the two outfits were together. there were black officers outranking
white officers, a state of affairs that whites did not take kindly to, not
so long after the official abolishment of segregation in the service.
The 92nd didn't perform as well as its commander General Edward Almond had wanted, and he did not receive the acclaim he sought. Consequently, there was no rush to recognize anyone for heroism, let alone a black man with what would obviously be a rare medal.
"In World War II, they were all reluctant to approve awards for us," said Hargrove.
But he points out that Major Robert Roush, who headed up the investigation of Hargrove's research for the Army's Awards and Decorations branch, is a white man, and did a superb job with the case.
"He felt terrible about this," Hargrove said. "I was really amazed how readily he followed up. I frankly expected a rejection, that there would be some fighting. But that never happened."
Hargrove said he was not disappointed that Fox did not get the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
"The amount and type of proof you have to have is such that I can accept the Army's decision on this," said Hargrove.
Hargrove says Gen. Almond was more a product of his background and era than a racist. "He was a southerner by birth and he really believed he understood black people. He really didn't.
"Most black people who were associated with him disliked him. I think they were wrong as hell. I never really felt that way. He was a sincere professional military man, trying to do things the best way he knew how. Re was a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, not a West Pointer, and he was still rising in the ranks.
"The division didn't perform well, and I suspect he was a very unhappy man."
Hargrove's book "Buffalo Soldiers in Italy" is now in its third draft and almost finished The book, a historical narrative expected to be about 70,000 words long, will show, he says, that the 92nd Division did not deserve its reputation as being cowardly and ineffective.
"Most of the casualties in the 92nd were men who died with a rifle in their hands in the front lines," said Hargrove. "There were a lot of black guys who realized what their obligations were and they were willing to carry them out.
"We were no braver and no more fearful than any other soldier. That's what I want to say."
Hargrove, who holds an honorary doctorate from Wilberforce University in Ohio, where he and Fox. a native of Cincinnati, were students, continued: "If you've ever been in the service you know that there are very few brave guys out there black or white. Men in combat rise to the occasion for one reason or another. As often as not it's because there's no place to run
"In order to fight you have to contact the enemy. and there was no shortage of that in the 92nd Like every other outfit in Italy the going was extremely difficult at times and the 92nd was under the fighting conditions they confronted no more and no less effective than any other unit could have been. The records confirm that Hargrove who had a seat on the awards platform at the Army 5 invitation, said his aim is to be objective about the 92nd Division.
"I'm trying to tell a story in such a way that whoever reads it can draw his own conclusions. I want to avoid the pitfall of many black writers who would blame the white officers for all the division's problems.
"Sure there was racism, but a lot of those white men were damn fine people and damn fine officers. They carried out their duties like everyone else and they died too.
"I've gone through the entire work three times to take out the animosity that's there. It's a very. very difficult thing to do. But I want people to be able to make up their own minds."
Hargrove, an artillery expert himself, says Fox knew with certainty that no one would live through the shelling he called down.
When Fox gave the final order, he knew that anywhere from 50 to 100 artillery guns, ranging in size from 105 to 155 millimeters, would be raining hundreds of shells on the small house he and his men occupied, shells weighing between 40 and 101 pounds, each with enough explosive power to destroy the building.
'There's no doubt about it," Hargrove said. "He could have escaped, but he chose not to. It's a hell of a thing when you think about it.''
The medal's citation said: "Lieutenant Fox's gallant and courageous actions, at the supreme sacrifice of his own life . . . were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army."
Last update: 1997-02-18 by WebMaster@366th.org
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