In 1990, Corporal Freddie Stowers (1896–1918) was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism while serving with the U.S. Army in France during World War I, becoming the first African American to receive the award for service in either world war. His commanding officers recommended the award shortly after his death on the battlefield, but, after the paperwork was misplaced, the recommendation was forgotten. President George H.W. Bush, who presented the posthumous award to two of Freddie's surviving sisters, spoke of Freddie's valor: "It's been said that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge. On Sept. 28, 1918, Cpl. Freddie Stowers stood poised on the edge of such a challenge and summoned his mettle and courage." Freddie is buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial near the village of Romagne-Sous-Montfaucon, France.