Elo Sambo

Elo Wilhelm Sambo (1885–1933) was a Cameroonian-born German who served in the Imperial German Army in World War I, notable for being one of very few Africans to do so. He served as the kettle drummer in the Life Guard Hussars of Potsdam (1907–18) and later the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the Reichswehr, also at Potsdam. During his service he was a favorite drummer of German Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor. He was awarded the Iron Cross, first and second class. While serving on the Eastern Front he became wounded and after recuperating joined the German effort with its ally, the Ottoman Empire. It was here he became a POW, returning to Germany in 1919.

Post war

The former German Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor, who abdicated in 1918, was able to use his contacts to get Sambo a job Den Linden in a baby blue uniform as a "taxicab man" at the prestigious Berlin hotel, Hotel Adlon. The paper noted Sambo "is a great linguist and speaks fluent German, even rolling his R's in German fashion.