Ceremony For African-American Soldier From RI Killed In WWI

NEWPORT, RI — Rhode Island officials are hosting a ceremony Saturday morning to honor Pvt. Arthur Burton, the only African-American soldier from Rhode Island who was killed during World War I.

The Rhode Island World War One Centennial Commission and a distant cousin of Burton’s organized the ceremony. According to the Newport Daily News, the ceremony begins at 9 a.m., and some of Burton's family members will be in attendance.

Burton enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard in 1917 and was sent to Europe in 1918, Burton was 21 when he was killed in France on Sept. 21, 1918.

Burton’s cousin, Deborah Jones told the Associated Press not all veterans have been given a proper remembrance for their service, especially during segregation.

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