MAY 25, 2026 – Army Pvt. Henry Johnson, an infantryman, served in France in 1918 during World War I, which was then called the Great War.
Johnson was born July 15, 1892, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His name at birth was William Henry Johnson. There are conflicting accounts of who his parents and sister were, but it is thought that they worked in the tobacco fields.
After the family moved to New York City when Johnson was a teenager, he worked various jobs, including as a porter at Albany’s Union Station.
On June 5, 1917, Johnson enlisted in the Army and was assigned to Company C, 369th New York Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters.
In December 1917, the 369th landed at Brest, France. By March 1918, the regiment began training under French command, as replacements were needed due to a high casualty rate. The 369th never served under American command during the war.
Later in 1918, the 369th Infantry Regiment was ordered into battle. Johnson and his unit were brigaded with a French army colonial unit in frontline combat.
In the early hours of May 15, 1918, Johnson and Army Pvt. Needham Roberts were on sentry duty at a forward outpost in the Argonne Forest, France, when they were attacked by a German raiding party of about 12 soldiers.
His Medal of Honor citation reads in part: “While under intense enemy fire and despite receiving significant wounds, Johnson mounted a brave retaliation, resulting in several enemy casualties. When his fellow soldier was badly wounded and being carried away by the enemy, Johnson exposed himself to grave danger by advancing from his position to engage the two enemy captors in hand-to-hand combat.”
Wielding only a bolo knife and gravely wounded, he continued fighting. Johnson defeated the two captors and rescued the wounded soldier. Displaying great courage, he held back the larger enemy force until they retreated after suffering heavy casualties, leaving behind a large cache of weapons and equipment and providing valuable intelligence.
Without his quick actions and continued fighting, even in the face of almost certain death, the enemy might have succeeded in capturing prisoners and the outpost.
When French reinforcements arrived, they evacuated Johnson and Roberts to an aid station behind the main lines. During the battle, Johnson sustained 21 wounds. It is estimated that he killed four Germans and wounded 10 to 20 others, according to the National Park Service website. Johnson’s actions on that day earned him the nickname “Black Death,” according to the National Museum of the United States Army website.
According to the website, when describing the battle, Johnson said that he did not consider himself a hero: “There wasn’t anything so fine about it. Just fought for my life. A rabbit would have done that.”
For his battlefield valor in May 1918, Johnson became one of the first Americans to be awarded the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme, France’s highest award for valor. By that summer, Johnson and the regiment were fighting in the Champagne-Marne Defensive and the Aisne-Marne Offensive.
Subsequently, the Harlem Hellfighters saw combat during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began Sept. 26, 1918.
After the war ended, Johnson sailed home from France as a sergeant in February 1919, and led his unit in the New York City victory parade.
Because of the severity of his wounds, he was unable to return to his pre-war porter position. He died July 1, 1929, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
On June 2, 2015, Johnson was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Louis Wilson accepted on behalf of Johnson, since he had no known living relatives.
“The least we can do is to say, ‘We know who you are, we know what you did for us. We are forever grateful,'” Obama said during the ceremony.
Johnson was also awarded the Purple Heart in 1996 and the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002.
By David Vergun
Pentagon News