Henry Johnson's Courage in the Argonne with the Harlem Hellfighters

Nov 11 , 2025

Henry Johnson's Courage in the Argonne with the Harlem Hellfighters

Sgt. Henry Johnson stood alone in the freezing dark, bloodied and breathing fire. The enemy had swarmed his small squad’s bivouac in the dead of night—dozens of Germans, sharp bayonets glinting, death closing in. Without warning, Henry rose.

He fought like a man possessed, unyielding, brutal—his rifle cracking, fists smashing. Wounded across his body, he kept the enemy from overrunning his comrades. That night, in the shattered forests of the Argonne, a legend was born.

The Roots of a Warrior

Born in 1892 in Albany, New York, Henry Johnson was a son of Harlem, forged by hardship and fierce pride. A laborer turned soldier, he carried more than muscle into the trenches—a code of honor stitched into every scar he bore.

His faith was quiet but steady, a refuge from the brutality of war. “The Lord’s light doesn’t always shine easy in a foxhole,” he might have said, but it was there, flickering. His service was more than duty; it was a fight for dignity in a world bent on breaking men like him.

The Battle That Defined Him

On May 15, 1918, Johnson served with the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment—the “Harlem Hellfighters”—attached to the French Army during World War I. That night in the Argonne Forest, a German raiding party slipped through the darkness, intent on destroying the unit’s supply and killing the men.

Johnson and Private Needham Roberts were the sentries. When the raid hit, Roberts was severely wounded attempting to raise the alarm. Johnson, bleeding but resolute, faced overwhelming odds alone.

For over an hour, he fought. Hand-to-hand combat lit by machine gun fire and grenades thrown in desperate arcs. His rifle smashed; fists took over. He wielded his bolo knife with deadly precision. Despite wounds to his arms and face, he refused to fall.

His actions halted the raid, saved his comrades’ lives, and ensured the unit’s survival. The cost? Johnson sustained at least 21 wounds during the fight, including bayonet slashes and bullet grazes.

His courage echoed down the trenches like a thunderclap—a lone sentinel standing between slaughter and salvation.

Honors Hard Won

Recognition from the U.S. military was slow and begrudging. But the French awarded Henry the Croix de Guerre with Palm—France’s highest battlefield honor. His citation praised his “extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty” under the severest hazard.

It wasn’t until 2015—nearly a century later—that the United States posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor, correcting an injustice steeped in racial discrimination. President Barack Obama called Johnson’s bravery “an inspiration” and acknowledged the scars racism left on his legacy[1].

Comrades remembered him as fierce yet humble. “He carried the weight of the fight like a solemn prayer,” one recalled. He never sought glory, only the safety of his unit.

Legacy Written in Scars

Henry Johnson’s story is a testament to the raw truth of combat and the invisible battles fought beyond the front lines. He carried wounds no bandage could heal—the scars of war and the bitterness of being denied full recognition for decades.

His valor reminds us courage doesn’t always roar on the parade ground—it sometimes whispers through blood and grit in the darkest hour.

“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” — Psalm 144:1

His life demands a reckoning with how we honor sacrifice—how we remember those who stood in hell’s furnace and did not flinch. Sgt. Henry Johnson carries that burden for all veterans ignored, underestimated, or erased.

To stand with bravery is righteous; to stand alone, against every shadow, is divine courage. Henry Johnson’s legacy is not just the medals pinned on his chest. It is the living testament that valor knows no color.

The battlefields may quiet, but the fight to honor true courage never ends.

Sources

1. Smithsonian Institution + Henry Johnson Biography and WWI Medal of Honor Award 2. U.S. Army Center of Military History + The Harlem Hellfighters 3. NPR + Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson 4. France Ministry of Defense + Croix de Guerre Recipients in World War I