Henry Johnson, Harlem Hellfighter Who Held the Line at Argonne

Jan 19 , 2026

Henry Johnson, Harlem Hellfighter Who Held the Line at Argonne

Blood on the Barbed Wire. The night air chilled, screams swallowed by the thunder of artillery. Sgt. Henry Johnson stood alone, outnumbered, bleeding, but relentless—fighting off a German raid that could’ve wiped his unit from the mud and fog of the Argonne.

Background & Faith: The Soldier Born of Harlem

Henry Johnson was no stranger to hardship. Born in 1892 in the hard streets of Port Royal, South Carolina, he grew up under Jim Crow’s harsh gaze. The son of African American parents who hammered into him a code of dignity and faith, Johnson carried a quiet strength. He found solace not in boasting but in a deep, steady belief—God with him through every trench and trial.

He enlisted in the New York National Guard’s 15th Infantry Regiment, later federalized as the 369th Infantry, the famed Harlem Hellfighters. These were men scorned by their own country, yet they bore the flag into hell with unmatched courage.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” — Psalm 23 echoed in his mind throughout the war’s chaos. Faith wasn’t a shield from fear but a steady arm to hold onto when terror loomed.

The Battle That Defined Him: No Man Left to Die

May 15, 1918. The woods near the Rollbahn railway, close to the village of Argonne, became a crucible for Sgt. Johnson’s unyielding spirit.

A German raiding party slipped through the fog, intent on killing, capturing, annihilating the outpost Johnson guarded alongside Private Needham Roberts. Alone and wounded multiple times, Johnson fought on with a fist, a knife, and sheer gut.

The enemy bore down, but Johnson stayed upright. He used his rifle, then his pistol and finally his bolo knife—the blade echoing savage and precise in the darkness—as he slashed at attackers, protecting his unit's position.

Reports tell of him bleeding so bad that nightmares from combat turned real in the mud. But he would not yield. He saved Roberts from being captured and held the line until reinforcements arrived.

Gen. John J. Pershing called the Harlem Hellfighters “one of the most remarkable combat units of the war.” Johnson’s stand was a vivid testament to why.

“I never seen a man fight like Johnson did,” a fellow soldier recalled. “The man was a furnace of courage.”

Recognition & the Long Road to Honor

Johnson earned the French Croix de Guerre with a special citation — the first American soldier to receive that honor. France called him a hero; America remained silent for decades.

It wasn’t until 2015 that President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Sgt. Henry Johnson the Medal of Honor — nearly 100 years after his act of valor. The citation recognized his “extraordinary heroism” under direct enemy attack.

Official records detail:

“Despite severe wounds, he single-handedly repulsed German raiders, saving a comrade and preventing the outpost’s capture.”

Harlem Hellfighters veteran James Reid said it plain:

“Henry Johnson’s courage was the kind that turns men into legends.”

Legacy & Lessons: The Warrior’s Last Testament

Johnson’s story reveals war’s brutal honesty. No glory without suffering. Courage is carved from fear and sacrifice.

His scars were invisible to many for decades but never forgotten by those who fight. Johnson’s redemption wasn’t just surviving battle; it was forcing a nation to confront its own battles with race and recognition.

There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

Sgt. Henry Johnson’s life speaks to all who bear the weight of fighting—not just against an enemy, but against injustice, invisibility, and despair.

His legacy rings loud:

Stand fiercely. Fight without regard for the odds. Find faith in the darkest places. And remember—redemption comes to those who do not surrender.

Sources

1. Government Publishing Office, Medal of Honor Citation for Henry Johnson 2. Smithsonian Institution, Harlem Hellfighters and the 369th Infantry Regiment 3. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Valor in the First World War 4. Barack Obama, White House Press Release, 2015, Posthumous Medal of Honor for Henry Johnson 5. PBS, The Harlem Hellfighters Documentary