COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio National Guard is celebrating the 2024 Freedom to Serve Campaign.

Seventy-six years ago, President Harry Truman signed executive orders to integrate the US military and federal workforce.

This year, the Ohio Guard is sharing the story of four soldiers from the 5th United States Colored Troops who earned the Medal of Honor during the Civil War.

“I guess my question would be if they were proud of what they saw today,” said SSG Tommie Berry as he spoke on a panel during the event.

Berry has a lengthy family history of military service and joint the Army came naturally.

Recently, he was asked to participate in a project to honor the four soldiers.

He learned a lot about 1SG Powhatan Beaty.

“In doing my research, I realized that there was a bigger story here than I originally expected. Even though none of their bios are extremely long, they are extremely impactful,” said Berry. 

Beaty, along with SGM Milton Holland, 1SG Robert Pinn and 1SG James Bronson, all earned the Medal of Honor for their leadership during the Battle of New Market Heights in 1864.

“During the Civil War, Ohio had the second largest number of black men serving from a free state and for far too long, we have left these men out of our history, out of our commemoration, out of our stories about the American Civil War,” said Walsh University Professor of History Dr. Kelly Mezurek.

Twenty-six African Americans received the Medal of Honor for their service in the Civil War.

“Over 179,000 black men would serve in the armed forces. This meant that 10% of all US forces that fought to preserve the nation were black men,” Mezurek said.

During their service, the men continue to face obstacles.

Many times they were paid less, they were denied access to promotions and weren’t allowed to lead troops, and often lacked medical care and quality equipment.

“And yet they continued to offer themselves for the promise of citizenship, the promise of the ability to serve in the future, and for their families,” Mezurek said.

For Berry, being part of the project is special.

“It makes me feel honored and blessed. I didn’t have to go through, I didn’t have to go through the adversaries they had to go through. Becoming a solider was honestly just kind of a pen stroke,” he said.

While Berry encourages everyone to write their own story, he believes that understanding where the path started is crucial.

“If they didn’t do what they had to do back in the day, I might not be standing here. We’ve come a long way, and they did an amazing job,” Berry said.