Celebrating Black Veterans: Walter E.D. Robinson

February is Black History Month! Today, we’re celebrating Black Veterans with a look at the Walter E.D. Robinson papers. Robinson was born in Bed-Stuy in 1893 and attended Erasmus Hall High School, where he was involved with several clubs, including the Smart Set Athletic Club.

In 1918, Robinson became one of the approximately 350,000 Black Americans to serve in World War I. According to The National WWI Museum and Memorial, “89% of Black servicemen (compared to 56% of all other soldiers) into supply, construction and other labor or support units – and often ordered these units to perform the most tedious, arduous and at times gruesome tasks.” Robinson was one of the few exceptions, assigned to a combat role in the all-Black 367th Infantry Regiment. He was deployed to the Western Front, where he saw action near Villers-sous-Preny, in northwest France.

In his diary, Robinson describes his deployment. He was often ill, and it rained constantly. On October 2, 1918, he wrote “Don’t feel so well. In the evening took a walk over “no man’s land” with Ariel Robinson, Braxton, and Tynes. Visited the French soldier’s cemetery where men who fell in the defense of the Agnone St. Michel with thousands of graves and it brought tears to my eyes. To witness same.” His diary is a fascinating first-hand account of a young Brooklynite away from home, coming to grips with his role in a global conflict.

The above photograph showing members of the 367th Regiment in their uniforms is one of several in the collection, kept by Robinson after he returned home. The photo is unlabeled, leaving names and relationships unknown, but reading through his diary it’s clear he formed close relationships with his fellow service members. It’s possible these were the same friends described in those pages. 

We may not know who those men are, or what became of them after the War, but Robinson’s post-war life is documented in the collection. In 1922 he married Katherine Hall and had two children, Muriel and Walter. Robinson spent his entire career at the U.S. Postal Service, working from 1933 onward as part of the Railway Mail Service as a Registered Mail Clerk. He was active in the many civic and religious organizations, serving as Trustee for the Nazarene Congregational Church in Bed-Stuy and as a life member of the Boys of Yester-Year, a Harlem-based community group. He left Brooklyn with his family and eventually settled in Greenwich, Connecticut. He died in 1988. 

Click here to access the Walter E.D. Robinson papers finding aid. 

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We welcome appointments to research our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.