The Department of Defense lists 19 members of the armed services participating in this Olympics. “I was extremely proud” of being a Buffalo Soldier, he said in a 2008 interview with the Library’s Veterans History Project.Īs the 2021 Olympics get set to begin, it’s worth remembering that Dillard - along with Charley Paddock and Mal Whitfield - were among the armed services’ greatest Olympic champions in a long list of military and athletic greatness. Army’s 92nd Infantry Division, a segregated unit known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Panama’s Lloyd LaBeach edged the U.K.’s Alastair McCorquodale for the bronze.ĭillard’s feat was all the more stirring because, three years earlier, he had not been sprinting at a university or track club, but dodging mortar fire in Italy as part of the U.S. It’s appears to be as much a ballet as it is a sprint.īut the photo makes it clear: William Harrison Dillard, at the bottom of the image, won the gold and takes the honorary title of the “fastest man alive.” His arms and hands are flung out and up, palms open, his right leg bent backwards at the knee, the toes of that foot pointing straight toward the heavens.įellow American Barney Ewell - who initially celebrated with arms raised, thinking he had won - took the silver. They seem to be out-running their own shadows. Six of the world’s fastest men, caught seemingly in mid-flight - none of their feet are touching the ground - are frozen in a furious burst of speed. The race is so close that a photograph is used to declare the winner. The gun sounds and in 10.3 seconds it’s over. After years of war, countries from around the world meet not on the battlefield, but on the track, in the swimming pool, inside the boxing ring.Īt Wembley Stadium, six sprinters crouch on the track for the finals of the 100-meter dash. All eyes are on the first Olympic Games held since 1936. This post draws from an article by Megan Harris, a reference specialist in the Veterans History Project, in the Library of Congress Magazine. Harrison Dillard, bottom, wins the Olympic gold medal in a photo finish. Olympic Gold: Harrison Dillard and Military Athletes ![]() ![]() National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.Farm Security Administration Photographs.
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