Aaron Fisher

Aaron Richard Fisher was born on May 14, 1895 in Lyles Station, one of Indiana’s earliest African American settlements. His father, Benjamin, served in the 6th Colored Calvary Regiment in the Union Army during the Civil War.[1] Fisher attended public school in Lyles Station before attending segregated African American Lincoln High School in nearby Princeton. After graduating, Fisher enlisted in the Army at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri in 1911.[2] After training in Texas and Ohio, he was promoted to Corporal. Fisher transferred to New Mexico in 1916, where he and his unit were stationed until the United States entered World War I in 1917.

During WWI, the US military maintained segregated white and African American units, both serving under white officers.[3] African American soldiers were usually sent overseas for non-combat roles such as building roads and railroads, repairing ships, and grave digging. The Indianapolis Freeman stated that “The cry has gone forth that the Negroes will do the laboring part, while white men carry the guns.”[4] World War I starkly illustrated the need for equal rights, as African Americans were fighting for a nation that treated them as second-class citizens. Freedoms they were fighting for as soldiers were not available to them at home, and instead, African Americans in Indiana and across the country experienced segregation, discrimination, and racial violence. In response to President Wilson’s war declaration address in 1917 that “The world must be made safe for democracy”, the editor of the African American newspaper The Messenger remarked that “We would rather make Georgia safe for the Negro.”[5]

The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Commander General John Pershing approved the African American 92nd and 93rd divisions for combat duty in France. The 92nd would fight under American officers while the 93rd would fight under French command.[6] Fisher, who had been promoted to 1st Sergeant, and then 2nd Lieutenant, was part of the 92nd division in the African American 366th Infantry Regiment. In 1918, Fisher and his unit were sent overseas to St. Nazaire, France. On September 3, Fisher commanded his unit during a German trench raid near Lesseux, France, where he led a counterattack despite being severely wounded.[7][8] After being sent to the hospital for recovery, he would stay in Europe until the end of the war and returned to the US in February 1919.[9]

For his bravery and leadership in battle, Fisher was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. The French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre with gold star, as an “officer of admirable courage”.[10] He was “among the most decorated American soldiers in WWI” and the most highly decorated WWI African American soldier from Indiana.[11] On March 17, 1919, Fisher was honorably discharged from service with the rank of Captain in the Army Reserve. He reenlisted several months later and was subsequently stationed in the southwest, Hawaii, and the Phillippines.[12] After returning to the US, Fisher was transferred to Wilberforce University in Ohio, the nation’s oldest historically black University owned by African Americans. At Wilberforce, he was an instructor in their ROTC military tactics unit and trained African American officers who would serve in World War II. He lived in Wilberforce until his retirement from the Armed Forces on December 31, 1947.[13] Fisher moved to Xenia, Ohio, and worked at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base until his retirement in 1965. Fisher passed away on November 22, 1985, at the age of 90.[14]

[1] McBride, Connor. “Aaron R. Fisher.” United States World War I Centennial Commission. Accessed April 10, 2020.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Hometown Boys from Indiana: Information and Statistics About WWI Service Members.” American Battle Monuments Commission, 2018. Accessed April 14, 2020.
[4] Thornborough, Emma Lou. Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indianapolis. Pp. 45.
[5] Williams, Chad. African-American Veterans Hoped Their Service in World War I Would Secure Their Rights at Home. It Didn’t. https://time.com/5450336/african-american-veterans-wwi/. Accessed April 16, 2020.
[6] McBride, Connor.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Thornborough, Emma Lou. Pp. 45.
[9] McBride, Connor.
[10] Ibid.
[11] "Hometown Boys from Indiana: Information and Statistics About WWI Service Members.”
[12] McBride, Connor. 
[13] Ibid.
[14] Reike, Greg. “Aaron Richard ‘Cap’ Fisher.” Find A Grave. Accessed April 16 2020.

Student Author: Robin Johnson
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey

PHOTO & VIDEO:
Aaron R. Fisher, attributed to U.S. Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aaron_R._Fisher.jpg