Black History

The observance of African American / Black History Month was established by Public Law 99-244. This observance runs through the month of February and celebrates the contributions of African Americans to our nation.

JULY 18, 1881: The 237th Support Battalion is organized as the 9th Battalion of Infantry.
The battalion was organized as a segregated, all-black unit, until the Ohio National Guard was integrated in 1954. During World War I, as the 2nd Battalion, 372nd Infantry, the unit earned the French Croix de Guerre for its heroic charge on German defensive positions near Montois, France during the Meuse-Argonne campaign.

OCTOBER 30, 1947: Company B, 638th Support Battalion
Company B, 638th Support Battalion is organized in Columbus, Ohio as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 183rd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. When the unit was organized, it was a segregated, all-black unit that served with the 37th Infantry Division on active duty from 1952 to 1954.

Ohio National Guard Equal Opportunity/
Diversity and Inclusion Program