Henry Johnson and the Harlem Hellfighters' Heroism in WWI

Nov 18 , 2025

Henry Johnson and the Harlem Hellfighters' Heroism in WWI

The night clawed in sharp and cold. Bullets sang death near the wire. Sgt. Henry Johnson stood, alone. Every breath scorched fire as German raiders swarmed the trenches at midnight, hell-bent on ripping apart his comrades. No surrender. No retreat. Only raw grit and a furious shield of flesh against the relentless storm.

Born from Adversity and Unyielding Faith

Henry Johnson was no stranger to struggle—born in 1892 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, into a country that had yet to offer him full liberty. A sharecropper’s son forced to carry the heavy burden of Jim Crow laws, Johnson found strength not only in muscle but in his soul.

“I never thought God would fail me,” he reportedly said. His faith ran deep, rooted in a Baptist upbringing, a light in the shadow of systemic injustice. It forged a command code no man could break: protect your own, no matter the cost. His courage was tethered to conviction, the kind wielded in quiet prayer before battle.

The Battle on the Argonne Forest Wire

The date: May 15, 1918. The place: a desolate patch of the Argonne Forest, France. Johnson fought with the 369th Infantry Regiment, the Harlem Hellfighters—a unit black soldiers formed but the Army sidelined, treated worse than the enemy.

When a German raiding party launched their attack, breaking through the wire and raining grenades, the trench descended into chaos.

Johnson did not falter.

With his trusty rifle shattered early, he grabbed a rifle butt, dispatching enemies in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Wounded multiple times—stabbed in the side, slashed across the body—he kept fighting, dragging his wounded comrades to safety, shouting warnings over the gunfire.

One witness said: “Johnson was everywhere, firing, slashing. He saved us all.”

In the end, he killed—by some accounts more than a dozen enemy soldiers—singlehandedly turning the tide of the raid. His body was battered, soaked in blood, but his resolve remained unbroken. The night did not swallow his men.

Medal of Honor and Forgotten Valor

Johnson’s valor did not escape notice. Post-war, however, official honors were slow and cold in coming. Racial discrimination shadowed his heroism, blurring recognition.

Decades passed before the true weight of his sacrifice was honored with the Medal of Honor—posthumously awarded in 2015 by President Barack Obama, who called Johnson a “legendary American hero.”[1]

His original awards included the Croix de Guerre from France, given for exceptional bravery under fire.

Commanding officers and fellow soldiers remembered him for a phrase that captured his spirit: “He fought like the Lord was at his back.”

Enduring Legacy of Courage and Redemption

Sgt. Henry Johnson stands not merely as a soldier but as a living testament to sacrifice under fire and against prejudice. His story is redemption carved into flesh and bone—a reminder that courage crosses race, background, and time.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

Johnson’s battlefield became a sanctuary where brotherhood eclipsed color lines. His scars spoke louder than words. His sacrifice gave meaning to those who came after him—a flame lit in the darkness.

To remember Sgt. Henry Johnson is to recognize the price of freedom. Not just on foreign soil but in the heart of a nation wrestling with itself.

In the smoke and mud of the First World War, Henry Johnson chose to stand when all others might have fled. He was a man forged by faith and fire, forever marked by the sacred duty to his brothers in arms. His legacy demands we confront our own battles—seen and unseen—with the same fierce resolve.

Let his story roar in our bones: heroism thrives even in forgotten trenches. Blood may fade, but honor never dies.

Sources

[1] White House Archives, President Obama awards Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson (2015) [2] U.S. Army Center of Military History, 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters) History [3] Medal of Honor Citation, Sgt. Henry Johnson, 1918 World War I records