In 1917, the United States joined
World War I, and the nation was abuzz to join the effort. After the declaration of war with
Germany, many African Americans were turned away from local recruiting stations. Unprepared for a large-scale conflict, the United States Army had only four black regiments, and many commanders would not allow the mixing of blacks and whites in their units. Also, the black regiments themselves were not trusted to be sent to
Europe, as many of the higher-ups lacked confidence in black soldiers as fighters.
Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School had been opened for training African-American men as there had been a huge influx of African-American volunteers and the students of Howard University had made a petition. However, there was still some discontent at the facility as many soldiers found that they had been unfairly assessed for merely being black. When Garvin answered the military's call for physicians he was immediately given the rank of
first lieutenant in the Army Medical Reserve Corps. Like all the African-American recruits, Lt. Garvin was sent to
Fort Des Moines for medical training at the Medical Officers Training Camp. After completing his training, he was assigned battalion surgeon in 1st Battalion, 367th Infantry. In September 1918, Garvin was promoted to commanding officer of the 368th Ambulance Company. Along with his responsibilities as a surgeon, he was also in charge of making sure that the company had all the essential materials — such as the wagon, animals, waste disposal supplies, and medics — and was coordinated to evacuate efficiently. Before leaving for France, Garvin was ranked
Captain. In
France, Garvin found a large amount of work on his plate. The 92nd Division had been assigned to the trenches to assist the French troops there who had been facing aggressive assaults from the
Germans for months. Garvin spent a lot of his time treating soldiers for illnesses, such as
influenza, and gas inhalation. Most African-American soldiers had been assigned to noncombatant engineer units that performed the dangerous and hard jobs of digging trenches and forming roads and fortifications against the Germans. Garvin attended to those heavily injured from the building, as the Germans were becoming more aggressive in late 1918. causing the hospitals to be filled with me suffering from lung and breathing problems. Garvin had a low tolerance for any slacking in his department; there were several instances where he demoted soldiers who did not display adequate performance. He was in disagreement over the statements issued by
General Pershing on how badly the black soldiers were performing in the war. He wanted to have his soldiers prove Pershing wrong and was frequently published in
African American newspapers on the matter. Upon the 92nd Division's entry onto French soil, it was moved to the St. Dre Sector to relieve the 5th Regular U.S. Army Division (composed of white soldiers). Only a few days later, the 5th Regular Division captured the village of
Frapelle. Immediately, these fresh African-American recruits were submerged into the harsh terrain of the trenches where the Germans had been sending aggressive assaults, such as frequent release of gassing shells. In mid-September, Frapelle faced a heavy German bombardment as an airplane duel came into the mix. With aerial and artillery fire coming from many sides, Cpt. Garvin was on full deck. At some point during the attack, the Germans learned that the opposing force that faced them, the 92nd Division, was composed entirely of African Americans. The Germans changed tactics and went into the trenches. The U.S. troops believed that the Germans were sending another surge of gassing shells, but when nothing emitted from the shells, they went to investigate. Within the shells was propaganda printed in English. It was titled "To the Colored Soldiers of the American Army", and stated: Hello, boys, what are you doing over here? Fighting the Germans? Why? Have they ever done you any harm? Of course, some white folks and the lying English-American papers told you that the Germans ought to be wiped out for the sake of Humanity and Democracy. What is Democracy? Personal freedom, all citizens enjoying the same rights socially and before the law. Do you enjoy the same rights as the white people do in America, the land of Freedom and Democracy, or are you rather not treated over there as second-class citizens? Can you go into a restaurant where white people dine? Can you get a seat in the theater where white people sit? Can you get a seat or a berth in the railroad car, or can you even ride, in the South, in the same street car with white people? And how about the law? Is lynching and the most horrible crimes connected therewith a lawful proceeding in a democratic country? Now, this is all different in Germany, where they do like colored people, where they treat them as gentlemen and as white people, and quite a number of colored people have fine positions in business in Berlin and other German cities. Why, then, fight the Germans only for the benefit of the Wall Street robbers and to protect the millions they have loaned to the British, French, and Italians? You have been made the tool of the egotistic and rapacious rich in England and in America, and there is nothing in the whole game for you but broken bones, horrible wounds, spoiled health, or death. No satisfaction whatever will you get out of this unjust war. You have never seen Germany. So you are fools if you allow people to make you hate us. Come over and see for yourself. Let those do the fighting who make the profit out of this war. Don't allow them to use you as cannon fodder. To carry a gun in this war is not an honor, but a shame. Throw it away and come over into the German lines. You will find friends who will help you along. Garvin and his fellow soldiers did not fall for the bait and continued fighting, to their "honor and credit", according to Emmett J. Scott. ==Career==