The Return of a Buffalo Soldier: Samuel H. Grant III

I WILL COME BACK is the story of WWII Buffalo soldier Samuel H. Grant. III. Grant was born and raised in the Jim Crow South but came from a long line of military men.

As a Black soldier he served in the 377th division that fought in Western Italy in 1944 and early 1945. After heroic combat duty around the village of Viareggio, he was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart, Grant returned to the American south to began a journey of transformation in his country as an early non-violent soldier in the civil rights movement.

This short documentary portrait was produced and directed by Robb Mitchell for the Minnesota Historical Society’s Greatest Generation Film Project. Mitchell and his collaborators Patricia Mitchell, Robert Byrd, and John Sims, Jr. won a Special Jury Prize: Honorable Mention for the documentary in October 2006.

The inspiring story is told through the generational eyes of son David, Joel and Sam Grant and grandson Amahl Grant. [Photo by Amahl Grant]