The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is working to identify dozens of black soldiers killed in World War II who served as part of the 92nd Infantry Division, known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

“The idea that we can first tell them how it happened, how he died a hero. This is what he did and what it meant to the war. And then to be able to identify him afterward. It’s just a very, very humbling experience for our job,” said DPAA historian and analyst Josh Frank. “Every story is different.”

In 1866, Congress passed a law creating six all-black army units. The late 19th century also marked the end of the Indian Wars, from which the Buffalo Soldiers got their name. Twenty percent of the U.S. cavalry soldiers were black. The Native Americans called them Buffalo Soldiers to express their respect for the soldiers’ bravery and valor.

“The two big units during World War II that everyone talks about in terms of racial segregation were the 92nd Infantry Division, the Buffalo Soldiers, and the 332nd Fighter Group, the Tuskegee Airmen,” Frank said.

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Members of the 92nd Infantry Division carry rifles across a field. (Accounting Agency for Prisoners of War and Missing Defence Soldiers)

US Private First Class Lemuel Dent Jr. served with the Buffalo Soldiers and was recently identified by the DPAA, nearly 80 years after his death.

“A lot of people talk about Normandy, Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Bulge. I think the Italian campaign gets a little forgotten,” said Frank.

PFC Dent was stationed with other members of the 366th Infantry Regiment along the Gothic Line northwest of Pisa, near Viareggio, Italy.

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“Between the coast and the mountains was all this swampland that they were trying to cross,” Frank said. “As they tried to get past the landmines and into the mountains, they were hit by artillery and mortar fire.”

The US Army archives contain documentation of US Private First Class Lemuel Dent Jr., who was killed in World War II. (Collection of the 366th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army, and other colored divisions, No. 8501. Department of Rare Collections and Manuscripts, Cornell University Library)

Dent was riding on a tank that came under fire while crossing a canal. The area where he died remained in enemy hands for two more months as fighting continued, delaying the opportunity to recover his remains and those of dozens of others.

“The entire 366th Infantry Regiment, to which PFC Denton was assigned, that entire unit was nearly decimated,” Frank said.

30 men were killed in action and 177 were wounded. Among those missing was PFC Dent.

In this photo from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, members of the 92nd Infantry Regiment fire a mortar. (Accounting Agency for Prisoners of War and Missing Defence Soldiers)

“We have identified three so far. PFC Dent would be the fourth,” Frank said. “We have a very large-scale project looking at unknowns at the Florence American Cemetery. After the war, many of these remains were collected by the Army, who were searching for missing persons. Any remains they could not identify are still buried as unknowns at the Florence American Cemetery in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Italy. And we have a very large-scale research project aimed at exhuming and identifying these remains.”

Rows of gravestones at the Florence American Cemetery in Italy, where the remains of many unidentified soldiers remain to this day. The DPAA is still working to identify these men, including through DNA samples. (American Commission on Battle Memorials)

The DPAA has conducted thorough investigations into where the remaining missing Buffalo Soldiers died.

“We have mapped the battlefields. We know where men have gone missing. We know where men have been recovered and where they are to be recovered. I think our biggest problem right now is that of the 49 that are still left, we don’t have DNA samples from their families for about 10 of them,” Frank said. “That slows down our process because if we don’t have DNA to match them to, we can’t rule them out. Sometimes ruling someone out is just as good as identifying others because it helps to say it can’t be that person.”

As for PFC Dent, his family members will finally be able to honor his service.

A rosette next to the name of US Private First Class Lemuel Dent Jr. on a memorial to missing soldiers at the Florence American Cemetery in Italy. The rosette indicates that his remains have been identified. Dent served in World War II as part of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division. (American Commission on Battle Memorials)

“That’s why our office exists and what we do,” Frank said. “I was a soldier myself. I think soldiers, by and large, don’t worry too much about themselves. I remember my biggest worry as a soldier was always: If something ever happens to me, how will my mother feel? What will my family do?”

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At most American cemeteries overseas, the names of soldiers missing in action are inscribed on a memorial. Those who are eventually identified have a rosette placed next to their name. In July, a ribbon was placed next to PFC Dent’s name at the Florence American Cemetery.

“We talk about PFC Dent because the agency hit a home run. Because we made an identification. We put the same work we put into PFC Dent, even our strikeouts,” Frank said. “It’s very, very emotional. It’s a lot of pressure. So when we get an identification, obviously it feels good. But it also has to feel good enough to carry you through the low blow if we get it wrong.”