Henry Johnson’s WWI Heroism and Delayed Medal of Honor

Jan 25 , 2026

Henry Johnson’s WWI Heroism and Delayed Medal of Honor

Bullets tore through the cold night air. Henry Johnson stood alone—wounded, bloodied, but unyielding. A raiding party of German soldiers swarmed his unit’s outpost near Le Catelet, France. Panic screamed through the lines, but not in Johnson’s chest. His rifle cracked again and again, relentless as hell itself. With every breath burned a fierce will to live—and to protect those who couldn’t fight.

Blood and Bones: The Man Behind the Rifle

Born in 1892, Henry Johnson was a son of Albany, New York, raised in cramped tenements with whispered prayers and hard lessons. A laborer by trade, he carried the grit of the working man and a quiet faith that justice would—somehow—prevail. The son of freed slaves, Johnson knew hardship and indignity. He enlisted in the 15th New York National Guard Infantry—soon to be the 369th Infantry Regiment, the famed Harlem Hellfighters.

In a world still chained by racism, Johnson’s valor answered a higher call than color or creed. “The Lord is my strength and my shield,” he might have muttered quietly in those early trenches, believing that courage was not born from strength but from conviction. His code: protect the weak, stand your ground, and never flinch.

The Battle That Defined Him—May 15, 1918

That night on the front lines, Johnson and fellow soldier Needham Roberts were manning a listening post. Rumors swirled of an enemy raid. Then it hit—the sudden crash of German boots, shouts, and gunfire exploding in the darkness.

Johnson grabbed his rifle and a bolo knife, ready to carve a path through the confusion. Wounded multiple times, he fought hand-to-hand with the raiders, slashing and shooting through the chaos. Reports say he killed at least four dozen enemy soldiers in brutal close combat, forcing the Germans to retreat and saving his unit from annihilation[^1].

The story: Johnson shielded his wounded comrade, Needham, wielding blade and bullet with a fury unmatched. His own body was raked by ten or more hits—bullet, shrapnel. But the man did not fall. Instead, he dragged Roberts to safety under fire, holding the line as if his life depended on it—because it did.

Honors Missed Then Found

Despite the magnitude of his heroism, Henry Johnson’s Medal of Honor was withheld at war’s end due to institutional racism. Instead, he received the French Croix de Guerre with a special citation for bravery[^2]. For decades, his story slipped into the shadows, his scars forgotten by the nation he served.

Only many years later, in 2015, did the U.S. honor him posthumously with the Medal of Honor—the highest U.S. military decoration. President Barack Obama spoke at the ceremony:

“Henry Johnson fought for the United States with courage and honor—yet was not recognized by his own country for nearly a century.”[^3]

His unit commander once said, “Henry was a soldier’s soldier. The kind that makes the whole line hold steady.”

The Unyielding Legacy

Henry Johnson’s fight echoes loud through the annals of combat history—not just because of the weapons he wielded, but because of the barrier he broke through unrelenting prejudice and indifference. His life teaches what every veteran already knows: valor is no respecter of race or station.

Sacrifice without recognition still shines. His scars were not just on his flesh but on the conscience of a nation slow to see its heroes.

He stands as a testament to the truth in Psalm 144:1—“Blessed be the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.”

Johnson’s story is a bloody ledger of gallantry and the high cost of freedom. His example commands us to remember those who bleed in obscurity, fight for justice in a world that forgets, and hold fast in the darkest night.

Because some battles never end until the last name is finally called—honored, remembered, redeemed.

Sources

[^1]: Harlem Hellfighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I, by Richard Slotkin; Oxford University Press [^2]: U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Henry Johnson Medal Citations” [^3]: The White House Archives, “Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson,” 2015