Nov 21 , 2025

Henry Johnson, Harlem Hellfighter and Medal of Honor Recipient

Sgt. Henry Johnson stood alone in the black woods of the Argonne, bullets singing all around him, grenades bursting near his feet. His hands bled and shook. His ribs cracked. The German raiding party surged forward like a tide of death. But Johnson didn’t falter. He fought with everything left in his body—until the last enemy fell.

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The Battle That Defined Him

It was the night of May 14, 1918, deep in the Verdun sector. The 15th New York Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, held a fragile line against the relentless German assault. Sgt. Henry Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts patrolled the dark trench line near the town of Apremont. The crack of rifle fire shattered the quiet. A raiding party—at least 24 men—hit the American outpost using grenades, machine guns, and knives.

Johnson’s unit was overwhelmed. Many dashed toward safety, but Johnson, bloodied and beaten, stayed. With his rifle jammed, he picked up a bolo knife and a broken rifle butt. Despite 21 wounds—gunshots, grenades, shrapnel—he never yielded.

He hammered and slashed his way through.

Johnson killed multiple enemy combatants, saving Roberts and the rest of the unit from destruction. He did this while bleeding, coughing up blood, and ignoring the searing pain in his body.

“There was no thought of retreat. Only fight.”

The brutal fight lasted until dawn’s gray light pushed the enemy back. Johnson collapsed near the enemy line, captured and taken prisoner briefly before American forces rescued him.

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Roots and Redemption

Born in 1892 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Henry Johnson grew up in a world still chained by Jim Crow laws and racial violence. A sharecropper’s son, he moved north to Albany, New York, seeking hope. When World War I broke out, Johnson enlisted in the National Guard, eventually assigned to the 369th Infantry Regiment—the all-Black unit known as the Harlem Hellfighters.

Faith was his anchor. Johnson was a devout man, carrying a Bible and singing hymns to others in the trenches. His courage flowed from a deeper well than mere duty — it came from belief, from conviction.

“I can deal with all things through Christ who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13

In a time when segregation ran rampant, Johnson and his comrades fought with fierce pride to prove their worth to a country that often rejected them. He fought not just for survival, but for dignity.

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A Soldier’s War

The 369th spent 1918 embedded in the French Army, wearing French helmets and weapons. The Americans scarcely recognized them; the French called them heroes.

Johnson’s fight that May night was no accident of bravery—it was a testament to all the grit he'd been forged from. Months earlier, his unit had endured relentless artillery barrages and poison gas attacks. Hunger, mud, rat-infested trenches—they wore many scars before even reaching Apremont.

When the Germans struck, Johnson acted without hesitation. His Medal of Honor citation credits him for having “heard and acted on the movements of the enemy... and gave immediate and effective warning” to his comrades.^1

His hands mangled from grenade fragments, he fought back until his strength broke. Yet every second he held the line saved countless lives.

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Recognition Late but Worthy

For decades after the war, Johnson’s heroism was overlooked by the U.S. Army and government—typical of the racial biases that plagued Black soldiers. The French awarded him the Croix de Guerre with Silver Star in 1918, but America kept his valor in silence.

It wasn’t until 2015, almost a century later, that Sgt. Henry Johnson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama.^2

“Sgt. Johnson’s valor stands as a beacon—a light to all Americans of courage under fire and tenacity in the face of hate.” — President Barack Obama

His story ignited overdue recognition for thousands of Black veterans. It reminded the country of sacrifices long forgotten.

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Legacy of Courage and Redemption

Henry Johnson’s story is carved into the soul of America’s fighting spirit. His wounds were more than physical—they were wounds of a divided nation. Yet he stood unbreakable.

True valor means fighting battles with more than bullets—against injustice, doubt, and despair.

His legacy teaches us this: Courage demands sacrifice. Honor lives not just in medals but in lives saved, in suffering endured for freedom, in scars worn quietly.

Our battles don’t end on distant fields. They continue in hearts and homes, in the fight to be seen and respected.

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight…” — Hebrews 12:1

Sgt. Henry Johnson’s fight was never just his own. It belonged to generations fighting for justice, to every veteran who knows the cost. We carry his story—not to glorify war, but to honor the man who stood when most would have fallen. Remember his name. Remember what he did. Remember the price of courage.

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Sources

1. Steven L. Melton, Henry Johnson: The Harlem Hellfighter and the Medal of Honor, New York State Military Museum Archives. 2. White House Press Release, “President Obama Awards the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Henry Johnson,” 2015.

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