Private Johnson distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a member of Company C, 369th Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division, American Expeditionary Forces, during combat operations against the enemy on the front lines of the Western Front in France on May 15, 1918. This is one of their stories. Johnson was recognized by the Johnson died, poor and in obscurity, in 1929. Roberts didn’t get far before he decided to return to help Johnson fight, but he was hit with a grenade and wounded too badly in his arm and hip to do any fighting. From 1919 on, Henry Johnson's story has been part of wider consideration of treatment of African Americans in the Great War.The French Army and people had no such problem and were happy and welcoming to accept the reinforcements.The 369th got off to a rocky departure from the United States, making three attempts over a period of months to sail for France before finally getting out of sight of land. Henry Johnson is one of the five bravest American soldiers in the war.”-Theodore Roosevelt Jr. The Harlem Hellfighters were a heroic bunch from the beginning, but this World War I infantry regiment had one man who stood out from all the rest: Private Henry Johnson (1897-1929), a former railroad porter.
Private Johnson's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.Veterans Bureau records show that a "permanent and total disability" rating was granted to Johnson on September 16, 1927, as a result of his tuberculosis. Wielding only a knife and gravely wounded himself, Private Johnson continued fighting and took his Bolo knife and stabbed it through an enemy soldier's head. Private Henry Johnson, a member of the all-black unit known as the “Harlem Hellfighters,” used a rifle, a knife and his hands to fight off nearly two dozen German soldiers during World War I. The captain of the transport, the The story of Johnson's exploits first came to national attention in an article by Returning home, now Sergeant Johnson participated (with his regiment) in a victory parade on In June 1996, Johnson was posthumously awarded the The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to
It wasn’t until administrators requested the paper files that they learned there was a data entry error: It was indeed Henry Johnson who was buried at Arlington. Johnson then hurled a grenade toward the fence, which brought a volley of return gunfire from the Germans, as well as enemy grenades. It didn’t take long for his wife and three children to leave. Henry Johnson, a member of … I have the honor of telling the sorrowful ballad of Sergeant Henry Johnson. But there were too many enemy soldiers, and they advanced from every direction; Johnson ran out of grenades.
He made it back home to Albany, New York, and resumed his job as a Red Cap porter at the train station, but he never could overcome his injuries—his left foot had been shattered, and a metal plate held it together. Although African Americans had been serving in the U.S. Armed Forces since the Revolutionary War, they still faced discrimination and segregation within the military.
In 1918, racism against African Americans was common among white U.S. soldiers in the U.S. military, but French attitudes differed.
Like hundreds of thousands of young American men, Henry Johnson returned from World War I and tried to make a life for himself in spite of what he had experienced in a strange and distant land. But by the mid-1920s, Johnson’s difficulties were catching up with him, and he declined until his death in 1929.
In November 1991 a monument was erected in Albany, New York's In December 2004, the Postal facility at 747 Broadway was renamed the "United States Postal Service Henry Johnson Annex". While under intense enemy fire and despite receiving significant wounds, Private Johnson mounted a brave retaliation, resulting in several enemy casualties.
His discharge records erroneously made no mention of his injuries, and so Johnson was denied not only a Purple Heart, but a disability allowance as well. Just after 2 a.m., Johnson heard the “snippin’ and clippin’ ” of wirecutters on the perimeter fence and told Roberts to run back to camp to let the French troops know there was trouble. smithsonianmag.com