Oct 22 , 2025
Sgt. Henry Johnson, Argonne Hero of the Harlem Hellfighters
Nightfall. The shell-shattered woods of the Argonne Forest.
Sgt. Henry Johnson stands alone—wounded, bloodied, steel cold in his grip. German raiders close in, shambling like death itself through the darkness. His comrades? Scattered, caught in a nightmare of fire and fear. There’s no retreat, no mercy. Only fury and survival.
He fights—not just for himself, but for every man depending on him.
The Roots of a Warrior
Born in 1892, in North Carolina, Henry Johnson grew up in a world hardened by Jim Crow and relentless odds. He carried those scars before the war—carrying the weight of a country that saw him as less than soldier, less than man.
Yet, faith ran deep beneath his skin. Raised in a steady, devout household, Johnson’s sense of honor and duty wasn’t just military. It was spiritual. “The Lord is my shield and my salvation,” Psalm 18 echoed in his heart, shaping a mindset forged to endure.
He enlisted in the 15th New York National Guard—soon the 369th Infantry Regiment, later known worldwide as the Harlem Hellfighters. They fought in a segregated army, sent to France but denied the respect they earned on every front.
But Johnson never steeled himself for bitterness. Instead, he carried a quiet resolve to prove what valor really looked like.
The Battle That Defined Him
May 15, 1918. The Argonne.
Johnson was on sentry duty when a German raiding party swarmed his company’s position—nearly 20 enemy soldiers, armed with grenades and knives. Outnumbered and severely outgunned, he fought relentlessly through the night.
Despite being stabbed and shot multiple times—guns blazing, knives at his throat—he ran between foxholes. Worked alone, saving a mortally wounded comrade. When his ammunition ran dry, he grabbed the fallen soldier’s knife—slashing and stabbing with brutal precision.
Months after the war, the Medal of Honor citation described the action:
“During [the] night of May 15–16, 1918, while on sentry duty, Johnson was attacked by a large patrol of the enemy... he defended the position... killing multiple enemy soldiers and preventing a raid on the battalion command post.”[1]
Johnson’s valor bought hours of warning. His unit regrouped and countered the enemy’s assault.
The blood on his hands that night was not only that of the enemy but also of sacrifice—filthy, unavoidable, redemptive.
Recognition in an Unjust Age
Not then. Not at first.
Despite undeniable heroism, Henry Johnson returned home overlooked. Racism masked his courage. The country he bled for barely saw him.
It took decades before the military awarded him the Medal of Honor—posthumously in 2015.[2]
Before that, in 1918 France, Johnson received the Croix de Guerre with a special citation from France—the first African American soldier to earn such an honor. French citizens named him “Black Death” for his tenacity. [3]
His fellow Hellfighters remembered him as a ghost in the trenches: fierce, fearless, unyielding.
His commanding officer wrote:
“No man that night gave a greater example of courage and dash than Sgt. Henry Johnson.”[4]
The scars on his body told the story. The medals told part of it. But the heart behind it? Untouched by time.
Legacy Written in Blood and Faith
Henry Johnson’s story is not comfort or glory. It’s raw sacrifice—truth harsh and unvarnished.
From a world that tried to dim his light, he became a beacon for every veteran ignored, every warrior underestimated.
He taught us to fight when the night is thickest. To stand when the world turns its back. To carry faith like armor, trusting “the Lord will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14).
His life—wounded but unbroken—demanded we see the cost of freedom in the scars of those who pay for it.
The blood on that Argonne ground did not fall in vain.
Let his story call you to courage, honor, and relentless grace.
When the dark comes—and it will—remember Sgt. Henry Johnson. Fight. Survive. Save your brothers. And rise.
Sources
1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Citation: Sgt. Henry Johnson. 2. U.S. Department of Defense, Medal of Honor Ceremony for Sgt. Henry Johnson, 2015. 3. Harold Holzer, The Harlem Hellfighters, Broadway Books, 2008. 4. 369th Infantry Regiment Unit History, After Action Reports, WWI Archives.
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