WAY TOO YOUNG TO SERVE — YET CALLED TO SACRIFICE. Fort Worth Buffalo Soldier Private Arthur Williams (1905–1955). One of the Youngest Soldiers To Serve in WWI.

WAY TOO YOUNG TO SERVE — YET CALLED TO SACRIFICE. Fort Worth Buffalo Soldier Private Arthur Williams (1905–1955). One of the Youngest Soldiers To Serve in WWI. 

325th Service Battalion, Quartermaster Corps | World War I

Born August 11, 1905 | Enlisted at Just 12 Years Old, One of the Youngest Soldiers to Serve in World War I (1917). 

NEW TRINITY CEMETERY: Before he had fully stepped into adolescence, Private Arthur Williams of Fort Worth, Texas, stepped into history. Born on August 11, 1905, Williams joined the United States Army during World War I at the astonishing age of twelve, offering his youth to a nation still grappling with racial injustice and struggling to recognize the full humanity of its Black citizens. He was a boy soldier, called to a duty far beyond his years, whose courage and sacrifice remain a powerful testament to resilience, patriotism, and the untold contributions of America’s youngest heroes.

Williams served in the 325th Service Battalion of the Quartermaster Corps, a vital but often overlooked branch of the American Expeditionary Forces. While infantrymen carried rifles to the front, Quartermaster soldiers carried the lifeblood of the Army—food, uniforms, equipment, and essential supplies—ensuring that the war could be fought. For African American soldiers, service in these units demanded discipline, endurance, and quiet heroism, all while navigating the harsh realities of segregation, limited recognition, and restricted opportunity.

The 325th Infantry Regiment, activated in the National Army on August 25, 1917, less than five months after the United States entered the war, trained at Camp Gordon, Georgia, as part of the 164th Infantry Brigade of the renowned 82nd Division, under Colonel Walter M. Whitman, a seasoned Regular Army officer. The regiment and its service units were largely composed of wartime volunteers and newly drafted conscripts, many inexperienced and entering military life for the first time. Only a small cadre of professional soldiers provided the foundation, charged with transforming raw recruits into disciplined troops ready for overseas service.

Into this demanding and unforgiving environment came Arthur Williams—a child in uniform, carrying responsibilities no child should bear. His story illuminates a sobering truth in American history: the nation’s wars have often been sustained by the very young, the marginalized, and the forgotten. Yet his service also proclaims a profound truth: dignity is not granted by age, rank, or recognition—it is earned through sacrifice.

After the guns of World War I fell silent, Williams returned to a segregated America that offered little reward for faithful service. He lived quietly, passing in 1955, far from the parades and monuments that commemorated others. In death, as in life, his story risked fading into obscurity—until remembrance reclaimed his name.

Today, Private Arthur Williams rests at Historic New Trinity Cemetery in Haltom City, Texas, alongside more than 500 Buffalo Soldiers and 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Congressional Gold Medal recipient Florence Marie Cole Rawls, whose service shaped both Fort Worth and the nation. Their legacy is preserved and celebrated through Digging for Dignity: Buffalo Soldiers Tours of New Trinity Cemetery, a living tribute dedicated to honoring, proclaiming, and protecting the stories of those who served when freedom was promised but not yet delivered.

During the Semiquincentennial of America, we honor Arthur Williams, the boy soldier who was too young to serve yet gave his youth, his courage, and his life in service to his country. His story is a reminder that freedom and sacrifice are inseparable—and that even the smallest voices can echo through history.

Arthur Williams was too young to serve—

yet he served anyway.

Too young to be forgotten—

and now, he is remembered.

For tour information, contact Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr.

817-966-7625 | kptatum1@gmail.com