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Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

They Also Served


African Americans in the Massachusetts State Guard and Women’s Defense Corps


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“ Is Democracy supposed to be for the White or Colored? It can’t possibly be the latter. What are we, am I, really fighting for? If it’s what the newspapers claim, I can’t appreciate it, nor the fact I’m segregated on a so-called Negro post…”

~ Black American GI, Question 78 of Survey 32, Research Branch Special Service Division, March 1943

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27 Inf Roster
27 Inf Roster

The Massachusetts State Guard, first organized in 1863, was an independent military force created to defend the state while the Commonwealth’s traditional militia units were deployed on Federal service. The state guard served within the Commonwealth in a number of conflicts throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, protecting armories and other locations deemed crucial to the national war effort.

During World War II, the Massachusetts State Guard formed its first all-Black unit: the 27th Infantry Regiment MSG. The regiment was activated on September 3, 1941 and recruited African American men ages 21-48 for threeyear enlistments. 

Discrimination and racism limited African American participation in the armed forces, and Black soldiers were often assigned to non-combat units or prevented from deployment. Nevertheless, the soldiers in the 27th Infantry Regiment made valuable contributions to the war effort on the Homefront. They were trained in skills such as rifle marksmanship, cover and concealment, scouting and patrolling, first aid, guerrilla warfare, and defense against chemical warfare. In the event of a catastrophe or direct attack on Massachusetts, the 27th Infantry Regiment was prepared to assist and protect vulnerable civilians. During World War II, the 27th Infantry Regiment was stationed at Boston’s South Armory where the men guarded weapons and ammunition. By the end of the war, more than 150 men had served in the 27th Infantry Regiment. 

Dr. Ruth B. Loving
Dr. Ruth B. Loving
The Massachusetts Women’s Defense Corps was established April 2, 1941 as an element of the Massachusetts State Guard. Like the Guard, the Defense Corps sought to organize, train, and drill women in preparation for a wartime disaster. Its members trained in first aid, firefighting, communications, and air raid drills. They also provided canteen, transport, and communication services during the War. The Women’s Defense Corps maintained secret locations throughout the state to readily offer aid in the event of an emergency. Unlike the Massachusetts State Guard, the Women’s Defense Corps was not segregated. The Women’s Defense Corps was disbanded in 1946.

Ruth B. Loving, an African American woman from Pennsylvania, joined the Women’s Defense Corps in 1943. She began her duties in the canteen at Westover Field but was soon promoted to typing and administrative work. She subsequently worked in military communications, learning Morse Code in a secret facility in downtown Springfield, MA. She was honorably discharged as a corporal after the end of the war and dedicated the rest of her life to community activism and civil rights.


1945 Massachusetts Women’s Defense Corps photo courtesy of Ruth Loving
1945 Massachusetts Women’s Defense Corps
- Photo courtesy of Ruth Loving
In 1942, Gourdin was promoted to command of the 372nd and tasked with providing basic training to African American draftees from all over the country. During the war, Gourdin’s regiment trained over 10,000 African American soldiers. More than 1,500 of Gourdin’s trainees served in the 92d Infantry Division, a segregated unit which fought in Italy. In the spring of 1945, Colonel Gourdin and the 372nd Infantry were transferred to Hawaii to begin training for the invasion of Japan. They were there when news arrived that the war had ended in August. 

The 372nd was discharged from service, and Colonel Gourdin returned to Massachusetts. After the war, Ned Gourdin resumed his law practice and continued to serve as commander of the 372nd. In 1957, Gourdin became the first African American in Massachusetts appointed as a Brigadier General. In 1951, he received an appointment as a district court judge and, in 1958, was appointed a justice on the Massachusetts Superior Court – another first for African Americans in Massachusetts. General Gourdin served on the court until his death in 1966, marking the end of a distinguished career as a scholar, officer, and jurist.