Sgt. Henry Johnson, Harlem Hellfighter Hero of Belleau Wood

Oct 06 , 2025

Sgt. Henry Johnson, Harlem Hellfighter Hero of Belleau Wood

Blood and mud. Darkness creeping over the forest edge. A unit pinned down, on the line between life and death. Out of the shadows steps Sgt. Henry Johnson, a lone warrior defying the night. The enemy firing like rain—he fights with a ferocity that sears through the chaos. His body torn, his rifle cracked, yet he stands, raising men from the brink. This was no ordinary soldier. This was a legend forged in fire.

From Albany to the Trenches: The Making of a Warrior

Henry Johnson was born in 1892 in Albany, New York, a son of African-American farmers. Raised in a world fractured by segregation and silent scorn, he found his strength early—not just in muscle but in spirit. His faith anchored him: a steady light cutting through despair. “The Lord is my rock,” he likely whispered under breath in quiet moments before battle, grounding himself in a code older than war.

Enlisting in the New York National Guard’s 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, Johnson stepped into a world divided by more than battle lines. Black soldiers then faced racism at home and abroad, a fight beside the fight. Yet, faced with the terror of trench warfare in France, prejudices blurred beneath the mud and blood.

The Battle That Defined Him: Belleau Wood, May 15, 1918

The night air hung thick and heavy on the 15th of May, 1918—Belleau Wood snarling with German raiders. Johnson and Private Needham Roberts were caught in a lonely sentry position. Suddenly, a raiding party howled into the darkness: more than a dozen enemy soldiers closing in to annihilate their squad.

Johnson’s response was brutal and immediate. Rifle in one hand, knife clenched in the other, he wrenched the fight from death’s jaws.

Shot multiple times, he refused to fall. With his rifle jammed, he clutched a trench knife—a blade carved from necessity—and slashed through the enemy. He broke their assault, buying his unit precious time to regroup.

His mangled body bore the scars: four bullet wounds, multiple bayonet stabs, and severe muscle damage. Pain was no excuse. Surrender was no option.

“Johnson charged forward, single-handedly beating back the entire raiding party,” recalled fellow soldier James Reese Europe. “Anyone next to him would have died right there.”^[1]

Honor Deferred, Then Delivered: The Medal of Honor

Despite his heroics, recognition was slow and hard-earned. The Harlem Hellfighters fought alongside French forces, and it was the French government that first decorated Johnson with the Croix de Guerre with Palm for extraordinary valor.

America’s pride came decades later. In 2015, Secretary of the Army John McHugh awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to Sgt. Henry Johnson, finally cementing his place alongside the greatest American heroes. The citation declared:

“For extraordinary heroism and devotion above and beyond the call of duty during the night of 15–16 May 1918 at the Bois de Belleau, France."^[2]

Fellow soldiers and historians alike echo the same truth: Johnson was more than a fighter. He was the shield that kept death back that night.

Legacy in Blood and Purpose

Henry Johnson’s story is carved in scar tissue and courage tested by fire—not only for valor in combat but as a powerful, painful symbol of resilience amid injustice. He fought not only to defend his comrades but to break the chains of prejudice that bound so many of his generation.

His fight continues in every veteran who confronts suffering silent and loud. The cost of valor is always paid in pain, yet peace remains a soldier’s truest battle.

The Lord said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid... for the Lord your God goes with you.”—Deuteronomy 31:6. Johnson embodied that strength.

In the shattered woods of Belleau, a man bled not just for victory, but for a promise—not every hero’s story is told in the moment. Sometimes it waits, buried with the dead, until time demands it rise and echo through the ages.

Henry Johnson did not just survive chaos—he carved hope into it.

May his fight be our call to courage, to fight the dark with unshakable light.

Sources

[1] James Reese Europe, Harlem’s Hellfighters, by Black Soldier Memoirs (1950). [2] United States Army, Medal of Honor Citation for Sgt. Henry Johnson (2015).