Henry Johnson and the Medal of Honor for a Harlem Hellfighter

Nov 20 , 2025

Henry Johnson and the Medal of Honor for a Harlem Hellfighter

The night melted into chaos. Bullets tore through the woods, screams cut the darkness. In the maelstrom stood Henry Johnson—alone, wounded, blazing through the storm like fury incarnate.

His hands gripped a shattered rifle and a bolo knife. His breath ragged, bloodied, but never slowing. The enemy swarmed. His unit’s fate hung by a thread. He tore through waves of Germans, a one-man wall of defiance. That night, he didn’t just fight. He became a legend.

The Roots of a Warrior

Henry Johnson was born in 1892 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but grew up in Albany, New York. A son of hard times and racial injustice, Johnson knew the harsh truths America whispered to Black men in the early 20th century.

He answered the call to serve with the famed 369th Infantry Regiment—the “Harlem Hellfighters.” These were not just soldiers; they were brothers bound by grit and faith in a country that often denied them both.

Faith was his anchor. Johnson carried scripture in his heart and a fierce sense of duty to protect those who could not protect themselves. His code was simple: stand your ground, hold the line, and never leave a man behind.

The 369th earned a fearsome reputation in the trenches of France, often fighting longer and harder than any other units. They understood the meaning of sacrifice, dressed in mud and blood under foreign skies.

Valor in the Fires of Combat

In May 1918, near the village of Fontaine, a German raiding party crept through the night, aiming to wipe out Johnson’s unit. The Harlem Hellfighters had dug in tight, but surprise can shatter the strongest.

When the enemy struck, Henry Johnson and another soldier were on guard. Awakened by the thunder of feet and whispering terror, Johnson rose to face the storm alone when the other man fell. With a bullet wound in his thigh and grenade shrapnel tearing his flesh, Johnson didn’t falter.

He fought hand-to-hand—rifle in one hand, knife in the other—he stabbed, slashed, and bludgeoned enemy soldiers. Nearly 30 attackers came at him. Yet, he drove them back.

“His courage and tenacity saved the lives of many of his comrades and thwarted an enemy raid,” his official Medal of Honor citation would say decades later.

Johnson’s actions that night were savage and desperate. When help finally arrived, he was riddled with 21 wounds but still alive—a testament to the iron will forged in the crucible of combat.[^1]

The Cost of Bravery and the Long Road to Recognition

Despite his heroics, Henry Johnson’s story was buried in the fog of racism and bureaucracy for decades. The U.S. Army awarded him the Croix de Guerre with palm from France—the first American to receive this honor—but did not immediately recognize him at home.

It took nearly a century for Johnson to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. On June 2, 2015, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Sgt. Henry Johnson the Medal of Honor.

“He was a trailblazer. A hero,” President Obama said, recognizing the man who fought not just for victory, but for dignity and respect.[^2]

Fellow soldiers remembered him as relentless and humble. His nickname among comrades was “Black Death,” owed not to malice but to fearlessness in battle. The Blood of his sacrifice stained the soil of France, a permanent mark of valor against injustice and enemy alike.

Beyond the Battlefield—A Legacy Engraved in Stone and Spirit

Johnson’s story is not just about war; it is about fighting for acknowledgment and redemption during peace. It highlights the struggle Black soldiers faced both abroad and at home.

His scars are emblematic: personal wounds from combat, societal wounds from neglect. Yet through these scars shines an unyielding light—proof that courage transcends color, no matter the weight of prejudice.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Henry Johnson laid down much more than life that night. He laid down the foundation for honor and equality in the military and beyond. His legacy challenges us to remember that valor is not selective; it is universal, sacred.

When the night is darkest, and the enemy pounds the gates, remember Henry Johnson. The solitary warrior who bled so others might live. The man whose sacrifice pierces through silence and time.

His story is a battlefield hymn—singing of endurance, sacrifice, and the unyielding hope for a better dawn.

[^1]: U.S. Army Center of Military History, World War I Medal of Honor Recipients [^2]: The White House Archives, President Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson, June 2, 2015