--- title: 'World War Z' Author Max Brooks Celebrates WWI's Harlem Hellfighters description: Max Brooks pays tribute to American heroes who returned from WWI to a country that treated them like second-class citizens. canonical: https://time.com/3879369/max-brooks-pays-tribute-to-the-harlem-hellfighters/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-15T18:00:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:45.632Z og:title: 'World War Z' Author Max Brooks Celebrates WWI's Harlem Hellfighters og:description: Max Brooks pays tribute to American heroes who returned from WWI to a country that treated them like second-class citizens. og:url: https://time.com/3879369/max-brooks-pays-tribute-to-the-harlem-hellfighters/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt651c698e73c9fed6/69884b832dce01c73b9e3388/140331-harlem-hellfighters-1919-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Harlem Hellfighters, 1919 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'World War Z' Author Max Brooks Celebrates WWI's Harlem Hellfighters twitter:description: Max Brooks pays tribute to American heroes who returned from WWI to a country that treated them like second-class citizens. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt651c698e73c9fed6/69884b832dce01c73b9e3388/140331-harlem-hellfighters-1919-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Harlem Hellfighters: Max Brooks Pays Tribute to World War I Heroes > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Mar 15, 2014 6:00 PM UTC  Members of the famed 369th Infantry, a.k.a. the Harlem Hellfighters, wave from deck of a ship as they arrive home from duty in World War I, during which they became the first American unit to reach the Rhine. Members of the famed 369th Infantry, a.k.a. the Harlem Hellfighters, wave from deck of a ship as they arrive home from duty in World War I, during which they became the first American unit to reach the Rhine. Paul Thompson—War Department/National Archives by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Mar 15, 2014 6:00 PM UTC _Fans of_ [_Max Brooks’ books_](http://maxbrooks.com/) _—_ World War Z_,_ The Zombie Survival Guide_, and_ The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks _— might be surprised to learn that,_ _since his boyhood in Southern California,_ _the 41-year-old author and screenwriter has been fascinated by a little-known tale of American courage, and American shame: namely, the story of the Harlem Hellfighters._ _The Hellfighters, a highly decorated black infantry regiment in the U.S. Army, were the first Allied troops to reach the Rhine at the end of World War I. Back home, after the war was ended, they faced racism, discrimination and outright violence. Here, Brooks shares his thoughts on a stirring photo of American heroes returning to a land that, in many ways, had no place for them._ --- --- > “” --- --- Max Brooks is the bestselling author of _World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide,_ and _The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks._ [_The Harlem Hellfighters_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Harlem-Hellfighters-Max-Brooks/dp/0307464970) (Broadway Books) — illustrated by [Caanan White](http://caananwhite.deviantart.com/) — is available everywhere. Learn more at [MaxBrooks.com](http://maxbrooks.com/). (Photo: Jacqui Howell) --- ---  Members of the famed 369th Infantry, a.k.a. the Harlem Hellfighters, wave from deck of a ship as they arrive home from duty in World War I, during which they became the first American unit to reach the Rhine. 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