Henry Johnson's Night of Valor with the Harlem Hellfighters

Jan 21 , 2026

Henry Johnson's Night of Valor with the Harlem Hellfighters

Sgt. Henry Johnson’s night was soaked in blood and bullets—a lone sentinel against death’s shadow in the grim trenches of World War I. The cold stung deep, but the enemy was closer. He fought, wounded but unyielding, facing down a German raiding party to save his comrades. His screams of defiance cut through the fog. This was no ordinary soldier. This was a warrior forged in fire.

Background & Faith

Born in 1892 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Henry Johnson grew up in Albany, New York. A Black man living in America’s bitter segregation, he knew hardship early. There was no easy path. But there was resolve—a code deeply rooted in faith and duty. Johnson carried a simple prayer in his heart, a trust in a higher power to guide him through darkness.

His baptism in the Baptist church was not just ritual. It was armor for battle: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). From childhood, he learned sacrifice was not just service to self—but protection of others, no matter the cost.

The Battle That Defined Him

May 15, 1918. Near Ville-sur-Ancre, France. Sgt. Johnson belonged to the Harlem Hellfighters, the 369th Infantry Regiment—the first African-American unit combat-deployed from the U.S. in the war. Facing the entrenched brutality of trench warfare, these men fought in a white man’s war, their courage unseen and unheralded.

That night, a German raiding party slipped through the barbed-wire maze, intent on killing and capturing. Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts heard the menace and rushed forward. Alone, Johnson fought with unmatched ferocity. Armed with a bolo knife and rifle, he repelled the attack.

Despite being shot multiple times and stabbed, he held the line—repeatedly charging through no man’s land, rallying his unit. The thought of retreat never crossed his mind. Every wound was a badge of duty, every breath fuel for defiance.

When the sun rose, twenty Germans lay dead, one captured. Johnson’s actions turned impending slaughter into salvation. His valor was a beacon amidst the hellish chaos.

Recognition

Yet the world took its time acknowledging this courage. Initially awarded the Croix de Guerre by France alone, Henry Johnson’s heroism remained largely unknown in America, shadowed by racial injustice. It wasn’t until decades later, in 2015, that he received the Medal of Honor posthumously.

The citation reads:

"For extraordinary heroism in combat, Sgt. Henry Johnson overcame wounds and near-certain death to repel an enemy raid, saving the lives of members of his patrol."

Brig. Gen. Mark Hersey, his battalion commander, called Johnson “a man of determined valor, unflinching under fire.”

His story shattered silence. It forced a reckoning—not just of one man’s gallantry, but of a nation’s failure to honor Black soldiers fairly.

Legacy & Lessons

Henry Johnson’s legacy is not only the medals pinned to his chest but the scars he bore and the truths he laid bare. Courage has no color. Valor demands recognition beyond barriers of race or time.

His night on that half-frozen French battlefield remains a testament to sacrificial strength—the warrior’s burden embraced for others’ safety. Johnson did not fight for glory but loyalty: to brothers-in-arms, to country, to a higher calling.

We remember so no one faces that war alone. His faith, grit, and sacrifice echo as a lantern in the night:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Henry Johnson showed us that heroism is born in the crucible of pain and purpose. The battlefield may close, but the cost of freedom is eternal vigilance and honored memory. His story carves a path for all who dare stand against darkness—a legacy blood-stained but sanctified by sacrifice.