Freddie Stowers, a one-time Anderson-area resident and the only black person to receive the Medal of Honor for World War I service, will be featured in a television show to air Monday.

The show “The Red Hand Division,” part of the History Detectives series of the Public Broadcasting Service, is scheduled to air starting at 9 p.m. on ETV.

Born in Sandy Springs in 1896, Stowers was recruited and trained in Columbia at what was then called Camp Jackson of the U.S. Army. A member of Company C, 371st Regiment, 93rd Division, he went into action on Sept. 28, 1918, and reportedly was killed shortly thereafter. He is buried at Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in Meuse, France. Some of his relatives still live in Pendleton.

According to a book of the era, “Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in the World War” by Emmett J. Scott, Stowers was “heralded for his uncommon bravery.” Scott was special adjutant to the Secretary of War and at one time served as private secretary to Booker T. Washington.

“We have a permanent exhibit about Cpl. Stowers,” said David Condon, a museum educator at the Anderson County Museum. We have period uniforms and a replica of his Medal of Honor on display. Anyone interested in Stowers can get more information from the museum.”

There is national interest in a traveling exhibit about Stowers, and Condon said he is working on putting it together.

Stowers also received recognition from the French government, “for extraordinary heroism under fire, 124 soldiers of the 371st and 372nd Infantry were decorated by the French. Among those so honored was Freddie Stowers,” according to Scott’s book.

Stowers and others received the Croix de Guerre, or French War Cross, according to the book.

Condon relates a story told about Stowers being killed during a “fake surrender” of the German troops.

“The Germans raised a white flag, and the African-American troops proceeded to capture them. The German troops opened fire, mortally wounding Stowers and others, but he continued to fight on and lead his unit until his death,” Condon said.

Stowers’ medal was presented to his sisters by President George H.W. Bush at a White House ceremony on April 24, 1991. The Medal of Honor is awarded only “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, in actual combat against an armed enemy force,” according to military protocols.

In World War I, white and black troops were not allowed by law to fight in the same unit in the United States military. The French army did not segregate their forces and gladly welcomed black soldiers into their ranks.

Stowers and the 371st were assigned to the French Army along with American white officers. The members of the 371st wore the traditional U.S. Army uniform but were required to use French rifles and equipment. The French unit they fought with was known as the Red Hand Division.

The ETV special is about the Red Hand Division and about a flag that was purchased on eBay on the Internet by Desert Storm veteran Anne Clarkson, who coincidentally was also stationed at what is now FortJackson in Columbia until her retirement from the military.

The television show addresses the question of whether the flag is the one that was used by the 371st in France.