Company E, 372nd Short Sleeve Tee

Celebrate the Company E basketball team, a post-WWI squad that represented the 372nd Colored Infantry Regiment during the early 1920s. Company E was made up of African American soldiers from the 9th Separate Colored Infantry Battalion of the Ohio National Guard, based in Springfield, Ohio.

Most of the nearly 400,000 African American soldiers who served in the U.S. Army during World War I worked in segregated labor battalions. But 20% fought on the front lines in two specially created all-Black combat units, the 92nd and 93rd Divisions. Black soldiers were among the first to enlist and were the first to engage in actual combat.

Though the U.S. command refused to let Black and White Americans fight side by side, French military leaders had no such objection. So the 372nd was assigned to the 157th Infantry of the French Army—the renowned Red Hand Division—to help fight in the pivotal Meuse-Argonne offensive. In two weeks of combat, the 372nd suffered 616 casualties and 107 deaths, but their advance was decisive in ending the war and the entire unit received the Croix de Guerre, France’s highest military honor. “The ‘Red Hand’ sign of the Division, thanks to you, became a bloody hand," said France's commanding general. "You have well avenged our glorious dead.”

Learn more: Company E team profile

• 100% cotton
• Fabric weight: 5.0–5.3 oz/yd² (170-180 g/m²)
• Open-end yarn
• Tubular fabric
• Taped neck and shoulders
• Double seam at sleeves and bottom hem
• Blank product sourced from Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Mexico

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, a process that adds a few days to the overall fulfillment. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

NOTE: Please allow up to 7 days for fulfillment prior to shipping. Also, since this is a custom-printed item, we cannot cancel the order once in production nor accept returns or exchanges, so please carefully review your order, including sizing. Thank you.

Traceability:
• Knitting—Honduras, the Dominican Republic
• Dyeing—Honduras, the Dominican Republic
• Manufacturing—Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador, or the Dominican Republic
• Contains 0% recycled polyester
• Contains 0% dangerous substances

Black Fives®, Company E™, and Physical Culture Supply Co.™ are trademarks of Black Fives Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.

Size guide