took ship for the Western Front, Duncan became the field commander of the regiment's 3rd Battalion. Still in this capacity, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 3, 1918. After the regimental commander, Colonel Franklin A. Denison, was replaced by a white officer, Lieutenant Colonel Duncan became the highest ranking African-American officer in the A.E.F. This was a significant achievement due to the segregationist attitudes of President Woodrow Wilson and his secretary of war, Newton D. Baker. While serving on the Western Front against the German Army, Duncan was awarded the Purple Heart and the French Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. The 370th fought on the Western Front during the final months of World War I. Possibly for political reasons, the African-American regiment was detached from the larger units of the A.E.F. and integrated into the French Tenth Army. Soldiers of the 370th fought with French equipment and rations. The men of the regiment are said to been nicknamed the "Black Devils" by the German troops who fought against them. Postwar After the war, the 370th Infantry reverted to its prewar status as the 8th Illinois Infantry, and Duncan was promoted on March 18, 1919, to the rank of colonel and commander of the regiment. The regiment was headquartered at Springfield's Camp Lincoln. In February 2017, authorities announced the discovery of a post-World War I 8th Illinois collar disc, a service unit insignia artifact connected to the date of Col. Duncan's command. Retirement, death and honors Colonel Duncan retired from the state education bureau in 1929 and died on May 17, 1937. He is buried in Camp Butler National Cemetery near Riverton, Illinois, in section 3, grave #835. Duncan is the namesake for American Legion Post 809 in Springfield, Illinois. A Springfield city park, formerly named in honor of Stephen A. Douglas, was renamed in his honor in 2020. References External links 1873 births 1937 deaths African Americans in World War I Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) United States Army personnel of World War I African-American United States Army personnel