When a Black US Army unit is rejected from fighting for their country, but are accepted to fight with the French, they band together to become a highly decorated unit and leave a legacy of jazz.

SYNOPSIS:

In a 1918 battlefield in France, Lt. James Reese Europe crawls through no-man’s land in darkness, targeting a German machine gun nest. As he maneuvers through the war debris, he envisions flashbacks of himself four years earlier at Carnegie Hall, conducting his all-Black jazz orchestra. An audience of high society patrons applaud in standing ovation as he is brought back to reality and attacks vehemently, the machine gun nest.

At the Clef Club of Harlem in 1916, noted composer and bandleader, James Europe, is asked to form a marching band of Harlem jazz musicians in recruiting an all-Black unit to serve in WW I. James Europe’s strong jazz background will introduce jazz music to the French culture.

The Harlem unit encounters racism while training at Camp Wentworth near Spartanburg, South Carolina’s whites-only section. A near riot in town, between a Harlem soldier and white locals, is defused by Lt. Europe with support from fellow New York white soldiers.

As they prepare to transport overseas from New York, the Harlem soldiers are informed they will not be marching in the sendoff parade because of their race. Their white Harlem commander defies orders and commands James Europe’s marching band and the Harlem 369th to march from their Harlem armory to the awaiting transport ships.

Because of racial prejudice, the U.S. Army will not allow the 369th to fight as a combat unit. The French Army, having suffered heavy causalities, ask the New York unit to serve under their command. The fierce fighting and heroism shown on the battlefield against the German Army gives them the name the Hell Fighters.

In the village of Schuelt, the Hell Fighters enjoy R&R from the front. They spend down time having their uniforms laundered and enjoy the local pub with French villagers. Together, they share their love of music, dance and are told they are the miracle of St. Genevieve.

The Harlem Hell fighters are the most decorated unit of the war. Acts of heroism shown by Pvt. Henry Johnson, Lt. James Europe, Sgt William Butler, and Capt. Fillmore received the highest medal of honor, the Croix de Guerre by the French government.

In ceremonial splendor, the Harlem Hell fighters depart the shores of France and return to New York as welcomed heroes. This time, they lead the Armistice Day Parade from the New York docks in full ticker-tape pageantry into Harlem. Families and friends cheer from the windows of the tenement housing and the crowded streets. They are filled with pride and heavy emotions in seeing their loved ones but feel the sadness knowing many Hell Fighters have not returned.

In a stirring Epilogue, images of the four heroes are featured one at a time with their legacies. The background is an overhead view of the French cemetery, Meuse-Argonne, where many fallen Hell Fighters are buried. The scene dissolves into present-day New York City ending at the memorial obelisk to the 369th Hell Fighters located in Harlem.