Dr. Frank Erdman Boston, who graduated from Lincoln University in Oxford, is among the Black service members who have forged paths for future generations despite the prejudices they had to deal with, writes Katie Lange for DOD News.

Boston became one of the first Black Americans to start a hospital and an ambulance corps, both of which are still in business.

Boston learned about the healing powers of herbs and natural remedies early in life from his mother, who was part French and Native American.

After graduating from Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University, he studied at Medico-Chirurgical College. He later worked at Mercy Hospital and had a solo medical practice.

He enlisted in the Army Medical Reserve Corps in 1917. He was given the rank of first lieutenant and by June 1918, he was sent to France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. He treated soldiers while under aerial and gas attack as a doctor and field surgeon. By the end of his service, he had attained the rank of major.

He was awarded two U.S. Presidential Citations, one from President Harry S. Truman and the other from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for his work.

Read more about Frank Erdman Boston becoming a trailblazer in DOD News.

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