Sergeant Henry Johnson, WWI Harlem Hellfighter Who Held the Line

Dec 08 , 2025

Sergeant Henry Johnson, WWI Harlem Hellfighter Who Held the Line

Sgt. Henry Johnson stood alone in the mud, beneath a midnight sky torn open with gunfire. His body ached, a patchwork of bullet wounds and bayonet slashes, blood mixing with the grime of the trenches. Against a vicious German raiding party, he fought tooth and nail—without weapons left, only fists and grit. He stopped death from swallowing his comrades that night. The war could have ended his story then. Instead, it carved a legacy.

From Albany to the Front Lines: A Soldier’s Faith and Resolve

Born in 1892, Henry Johnson grew up in the rough neighborhoods of Albany, New York. He was a son of fire and faith, a man shaped by hardship and an unwavering code. Baptized into the Baptist church, Johnson carried scripture like armor. He believed every breath was a charge to protect the innocent.

When the War Department formed the 369th Infantry Regiment—infamously known as the Harlem Hellfighters—Johnson enlisted. This unit was not only fighting Germany but prejudice back home. Segregated and under-resourced, they marched with a roar of dignity into the pits of Hell. Johnson’s faith and fierce spirit were his compass amid the carnage.

The Battle That Defined Him

The date was May 15, 1918. Near the village of Apremont, France, German forces launched a brutal raid against the 369th’s outpost. Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts were on sentry duty when the Germans attacked with grenades and machine guns. The line shattered.

Johnson’s rifle jammed early—he tossed it aside. The bayonet on his rifle broke. Wounded multiple times, staggering, he engaged the enemy in close combat, using his fists, a knife, whatever he could grab. He killed a dozen enemy soldiers, silenced their machine gun nest, and prevented a complete rout. All this while hauling his partner, also badly wounded, back to safety.

Reports of the encounter call it “legendary” and “unmatched valor.” For over an hour, Johnson held the line alone. He returned to the trenches covered in blood, face and body riddled with wounds, but alive.

Honor Delayed, Valor Remembered

Johnson was awarded the Croix de Guerre by France, the first American enlisted soldier to receive it in WWI[1]. The U.S. Army gave him the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross, but the Medal of Honor was denied for decades—a silence marked by the era’s racial injustice.

It wasn’t until 2015 that President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Sgt. Henry Johnson the Medal of Honor, rectifying history[2].

“Henry Johnson’s incredible courage has finally been recognized,” President Obama said during the ceremony. “He fought at the frontlines of two wars: one against America’s enemies abroad, the other against the scourge of Jim Crow racism at home.”

Comrades called him “a tiger” and “a warrior spirit,” legends carried by the Harlem Hellfighters' tales. Johnson’s stand was more than valor—it was defiance against prejudice and death alike.

Scarred but Unbroken: Legacy and Lessons

Johnson’s legacy stands at the crossroad of sacrifice and redemption. His story teaches that true bravery lives beyond medals and race. It lives in the grit of a man who faced darkness with fist and faith and fought so others could live.

His scars—both visible and invisible—echo Christ’s words:

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

He was flesh and blood, worn and broke, yet he gave all in that hellish night. Henry Johnson is a testament that courage is born in suffering, and redemption can rise from the darkest trenches.

The battlefield still whispers Sgt. Henry Johnson’s name. For veterans, it is a call to never yield. For civilians, a mirror reflecting the price of freedom paid in blood and broken bones. His story demands we honor not only the fight but the warrior’s enduring spirit.

Because in places where hell rages, men like Johnson show us how to hold the line—bullet-riddled, battered, but unbowed.

Sources

[1] Smithsonian Institution, Voices of the Harlem Hellfighters [2] U.S. Department of Defense, President Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Sgt. Henry Johnson