Kappa Alpha Psi is the only National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) affiliated fraternity to not grant honorary membership. The list below includes members recognized as leaders in their respective fields. Army in World War I and served in the U.S. The list of Kappa Alpha Psi () brothers (commonly referred to as Kappas or Nupes) includes initiated members. Army.įounder Marcus Peter Blakemore enlisted with the U.S. He was assigned to the 809th Pioneer Infantry unit of the U.S. He was an associate editor of Modern Artillerymen, the official record of Battery F.įounder Henry Tourner Asher served a year overseas in France during World War I and attained the rank of corporal. His battery enjoys the unique distinction of having been the first Battery of Negro Artillerymen ever to open fire upon an enemy in WWI. Lee subsequently served overseas as a Sergeant First Class and Gunner. The Field Artillery component was the first Negro Artillery Regiment in the history of the military. The Division organized at Fort Dix (New Jersey) in November 1917. He also received two Distinguished Service Awards, from President Truman and Eisenhower respectively.įounder John Milton Lee enlisted in the Army in 1917 and was a non-commissioned officer assigned to Battery F, 349th Field Artillery Regiment, 167th Field Artillery Brigade of the 92nd Division. He received the 2nd highest medal that is given by this country for valor. He served on the Selective Service Board during WWII and the Korean War. Army during the WWI as a Combat Medic and was cited for bravery for his actions with the Expeditionary Forces in France.

Subsequent to the war, Diggs was instrumental in having the Indiana constitution amended to permit Negro enlistment in the Indiana National Guard.įounder Edward Giles Irvin served in the U.S. Diggs also was a past commander of the American Legion. After serving in Europe with the 368th Infantry, he rose to the rank of Captain in the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps. We at Watch The Yard reached out to Kevin Scott, the fraternity’s official Historian and created a list of the Kappa Alpha Psi founders who served during the “Great War.”įounder Elder Watson Diggs entered the nation’s first Negroes Officers Training Camp at Fort Des Moines, Iowa and was commissioned a First Lieutenant. Of the ten men who founded the fraternity, seven of them served in WWI as their young fraternity was growing.

Kappa alpha psi founders were masons