After completing basic training in Alabama, DuCongé was slated to attend officer training school. However, after being rejected from his top choices because of health concerns, he was sent to Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The base hosted the Ninety-Second and Ninety-Third Infantry Divisions, the African American contingents of the segregated US Army. Before his discharge form the the military in 1945, DuCongé achieved the rank of staff sergeant.