Wayne Miner

A member of the legendary “Buffalo Soldiers” regiment who won medals and were hailed as heroes despite sparse or inferior weapons and training, Miner died three hours before the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918 while bringing ammunition to the troops. Like many other Blacks, Miner suffered harsh treatment because of prejudice from without, while sometimes having to fight his fellow soldiers to survive, much less thrive, in a world that grudgingly tolerated and used them, but viewed them as inferior and expendable cannon fodder.

The brief yet distinguished life of Wayne Miner was defined by sacrifice and valor. Born in 1890 in Henry County, Missouri to formerly enslaved parents.

He later moved to Appanoose County, Iowa, and was working as a coal miner in 1917 when called to serve in World War I. Part of the 92nd Division, an African American fighting force nicknamed the “Buffalo Soldiers,” when it deployed to France in August 1918.

During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the last major engagement of World War I, Miner volunteered to deliver ammunition to an outpost when no others would step forward.

Private Miner was killed in action on November 11, 1918, just a few hours before the signing of the Armistice that ended the war. The following year, the American Legion Wayne Miner Post 149 was formed in honor of the fallen soldier.

In 2019, the play The Buffalo Hero: The Wayne Miner Story, by Kenthedo Robinson, Playwright/Director, was made on Miner's life. Comments regarding the production: Robinson gives us an emotional picture of the fierce battles in the barracks as well as in the field, and how they can pale in comparison with the emotional battles between us and sometimes within ourselves, and how “separate but equal” is always shown for the lie that it is.

The Wayne Miner Court housing development and Wayne Miner Health Center were also named for him. It was demolished in in 1987. Miner is recognized as a hero and one of the last Americans to die in World War I. He is buried in St. Mihiel American Cemetery in Thiaucourt, France.

Sources: kcblackhistory.org; Iowa State Historical Society; artsindependence.com article by L.A. Henderson