More than 1,700 Black South African servicemen who died in non-combat roles on the Allied side during World War I and have no known grave have been recognized with a memorial more than 100 years later.

A new memorial in Cape Town honors 1,772 Black South African servicemen who died in non-combat roles during World War I and have no known graves. According to The Associated Press, these men, members of the Cape Town Labor Corps,

Hundreds of South African servicemen, mostly black, who died during World War One have been honoured with a new memorial in Cape Town after going unrecognised for more than a century. The 1,772 men worked in dangerous and gruelling non-combatant roles in East Africa but until now, they had no known grave or commemoration.

A newly unveiled memorial in Cape Town commemorates over 1,700 Black South African servicemen who served in non-combat roles during World War I. Previously unrecognized due to racial discrimination, these men's efforts are now honored for their critical support in the war.

While South Africa has several memorials dedicated to white soldiers who died in the world wars, Black servicemen's contributions were ignored for decades.