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Veterans Day - Historically, African-Americans have been fighting all their lives; for freedom, for equality and for their country. In honor of Veterans Day, BET.com takes a look at notable African-American war heroes and infantries. — Dominique Zonyéé(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Crispus Attucks - Attucks, the son of a slave, is known for falling first in the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. A fight broke out between Bostonians and British soldiers that further escalated, with Attucks in the center of the brawl. The British opened fire, and Attucks was the first of five men killed. He was the first causality of the American Revolution.(Photo: Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Photo By Archive Photos/Getty Images

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Lewis Martin - Blacks weren’t considered men, or citizens, yet, but they were allowed to fight in the Civil War in 1861. Lewis Martin was a member of the 29th U.S. Colored Infantry, and had to have his leg and arm amputated due to battle wounds accrued in the famous Battle of the Crater in July 1864.(Photo: National Archive)

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Nurse Susie King Taylor - In the 1800s, it was illegal for African-Americans to receive any type of education, but Susie Taylor wasn’t afraid of the law and snuck in lessons at an “underground” school. Her passion to help others, coupled with her unique education, led her to meet Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, and she worked alongside Barton as a nurse in the Civil War until it ended in 1865.(Photo: WikiCommons)

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The Union Army - Approximately 180,000 Blacks made up 163 units in the Union Army, the land force that fought for the Union in the Civil War. They made up about 10 percent of those enlisted in the Union Army. About 1/3 of them lost their lives fighting for an end to slavery. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Buffalo Soldiers - Blacks could fight in the Civil War but where still subjected to racial discrimination. Rumor has it, the term Buffalo Soldiers, was coined by Native Americans and referred to African-American’s of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment. While stories differ on the origins of the name Buffalo Soldiers, African-American troops took on the title and Buffalo Soldier cavalries fought in the Indian Wars, World Wars and more.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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Tuskegee Airmen - From 1941-46 the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group; better known as the Tuskegee Airmen, pilots in World War II. They were the first African-American airmen in the armed forces and trained on a segregated airbase in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1941 fewer than 4,000 Blacks were in the military, but after the Airmen, more than 1.2 million African-Americans were serving in uniform. (Photo: PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

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Corporal Freddie Stowers - Corporal Freddie Stowers was killed just six weeks before the end of WWI, as he led the all-Black 371st Infantry Regiment in France to successfully defeat German troops. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but it would take 70 years for the American government to honor their fallen soldier. In 1988 President George Bush gave the award posthumously to Stowers’ sisters.(Photo: WikiCommons)

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Staff Sergeant Clifford Chester Sims - Staff Sergeant Clifford Chester Sims served in the United States Army as Staff Sergeant for Company D, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment and 101st Airborne Division in the Republic of Vietnam. The seasoned soldier saved his men from enemy defeat on Feb. 21, 1968, by moving them quickly out of a house filled with ammunition.(Photo: National Archive)

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General Colin Powell - General Colin Powell worked his way up to general from the ROTC at the City College of New York. He was one of 16,000 advisers sent to Vietnam, and he investigated the My Lai massacre in which more than 300 civilians were killed by U.S. Army forces. He continued to climb the military ranks earning four stars as a general. He became the first African-American to serve as Secretary of State in 2001.(Photo: Courtesy of The United States Army)

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Colonel Margaret Bailey - Women like Colonel Margaret Bailey also made history serving in World War II. Colonel Bailey fought on the domestic front, working to integrate military housing, working environments and recreational facilities. She was awarded the Legion of Merit for Exceptionally Meritorious Conduct in 1971. (Photo: Courtesy of The United States Army)