JOHNSON, HENRY Sergeant, U.S. Army Company C, 369th Infantry Regiment, 93d Division,
A.E.F. Date of Action: May 13 - 15,
1918 Awarded under Act of Congress,
2002 Home Town: Albany, New
York
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to
Henry Johnson, Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action in
France during the period 13 - 15 May 1918.
Private Johnson distinguished himself by
extraordinary heroism while engaged in military operations involving
conflict with an opposing foreign force.
While on a double sentry night duty, Private
Johnson and a fellow soldier were attacked by a raiding party of Germans
numbering almost twenty, wounding both. When the Germans were within
fighting distance, he opened fire, shooting one of them and seriously
wounding two more. The Germans continued to advance, and as they were
about to be captured Private Johnson drew his bolo knife from his belt and
attacked the Germans in a hand-to-hand encounter. Even though having
sustained three grenade and shotgun wounds from the star, Private Johnson
went to the rescue of his fellow soldier who was being taken prisoner by
the enemy. He kept on fighting until the Germans were chased
away.
Private Johnson?s personal courage and total
disregard for his own life reflect great credit upon himself, the 369th
United States Infantry Regiment, the United States Army, and the United
States of America.
11 April 2003:
KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- A local World War I
veteran was honored posthumously by the Army for his bravery.
Henry
Johnson (Family Photo)
Sergeant Henry Johnson was a member of the
all-black 369th Army Infantry. Johnson became a hero when he
singlehandedly fought off a group of German soldiers with only a knife and
a gun to rescue a wounded comrade.
"He got wounded 21 times and what he did was
stop the Germans from getting through the French line," son Herman Johnson
said.
France awarded Johnson its highest military
Medal of Honor, but his deeds were ignored back home, Washington
reported.
"Fighting for your country is an honor, but they
would not give black people any honors," Herman Johnson said.
No longer overlooked, Sergeant Henry Johnson was
posthumously awarded the Army's Distinguished Service Cross for bravery
Thursday. The medal was presented to his son.
"I think it is important to leave a legacy
behind, and this is one of them," Herman Johnson said.
Henry Johnson is buried in Arlington National
Cemetery. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in 1996. He is also
depicted in the pantheon mural at the Liberty Memorial.
Son of World War I hero Sgt. Henry L. Johnson accepts Distinguished
Service Cross in hometown
Monday, February 17, 2003
ALBANY -- Herman Johnson had all but given up
hope after trying to get the U.S. military to award the Medal of Honor
posthumously to his father, Sergeant Henry Lincoln Johnson. After writing
a number of letters to government officials, Johnson said he had begun to
tell himself that it was a shame that nothing would happen.
Herman Johnson holds Sunday the Distinguished
Service Cross awarded
postumously to his father, Sergeant Henry
Johnson. John Howe, left, was
a key fighter for recognition of Henry Johnson's
heroism.
On Sunday, Johnson was proud to admit he was
wrong as he accepted the Distinguished Service Cross on behalf of his
father, who single-handedly fought off a German raiding party in World War
I more than 80 years ago.
Henry Johnson was finally being recognized as a
hero at home.
"I am amazed at the respect the people of Albany
had for him," Herman Johnson said during an uplifting ceremony at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel.
To thank lawmakers and community leaders for
their help in the struggle that lasted more than 30 years to get the
military to honor his father, Herman Johnson then donated the medal to the
Albany chapter of New York's Army National Guard 369th Infantry Regiment,
the all-black unit of which Sergeant Johnson was a member.
"I don't want to take it home and put it in my
dresser drawer. I want it displayed so people can see it," said Herman
Johnson, 86, a Kansas City, Missouri, resident who served in World War II
as a fighter pilot with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.
After the ceremony, people flocked to the stage
to shake the hand of the man whose father has become one of the Capital
Region's most notable hometown heroes. Camera lights flashed as people
rushed to take Herman Johnson's picture and view the medal up close. It
was as if Henry Johnson himself was there.
In a way he was, Herman Johnson said. "I know
he's looking down on us," he said, smiling.
Sunday's ceremony followed formal presentation
of the medal to Johnson in a ceremony Thursday at the Pentagon in
Washington, D.C.
The award represented a partial victory,
however, for Johnson's family and his supporters who had sought the Medal
of Honor, the nation's highest military citation for heroism.
Henry Johnson and a fellow soldier, Needham
Roberts, were on sentry duty when they came under attack one night in May
1918 by a 20-man German raiding party. Johnson drew his bolo knife from
his belt and fought off the Germans. Despite suffering three grenade and
shotgun wounds, he went to the aid of Roberts who was being taken prisoner
by the enemy.
Johnson received the Croix de Guerre, one of
France's highest honors, but he was never recognized by his own country
because of the color of his skin. He didn't even receive the Purple Heart
until 1997, despite being wounded 21 times in 1918. The Purple Heart is a
combat decoration given to members of the military who are wounded by the
enemy or posthumously to the next of kin.
To add insult to injury, U.S. Sen. Charles
Schumer, D-NY, who aided in the push to win recognition for the Albany
man, said Johnson was exploited by the same military who refused to honor
his heroism.
"The U.S. Army used his name and likeness to
recruit African-Americans, yet for 85 years neither Johnson nor his family
received the recognition they should have," Schumer said via telephone
from the home of U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY.
Schumer was scheduled to attend Sunday's
ceremony but his flight was canceled because of mechanical
problems.
"I'm proud to be the mayor of the capital city
of this state, but I'm particularly proud because Henry Johnson was a
citizen here," said Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings.
County Executive Michael Breslin, who also
attended the ceremony, said that it was "ironic and pathetic" for Henry
Johnson to be honored at a time when the nation is on the verge of another
war.
Henry Johnson's supporters say the fight doesn't
stop with the Distinguished Service Cross.
"I will not rest, I will not abandon my quest
for justice until Henry Johnson receives the Medal of Honor and until his
name is etched on the wall of heroes," said U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty,
D-Green Island.
Assemblyman Keith Wright, D-New York City,
chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican and Hispanic
Legislative Caucus Inc., said, "This is just a small step for us as far as
I'm concerned. I think it's about time we follow the lead of France and
award Henry Johnson the U.S. Medal of Honor."
After the war, Henry Johnson returned to Albany
and was even recognized for his heroic efforts in a New York City
ticker-tape parade. But the cheers faded with time and he died poor and
largely forgotten in New York City at the age of 32, estranged from his
wife and three children.
He is buried in Arlington National
Cemetery.
Herman Johnson said he is saddened and happy
that it took so long for his father get some recognition.
"Nobody's happy about that. It stands for racism
and discrimination, but I'm gratified to see it happened. It shows there
are some good people left," Johnson said.
The timing of the honor was also impeccable,
Herman Johnson said.
"I'm glad it coincides with Black History Month
because people should know what black people have done," he said. "Future
generations should know there were people like Henry Johnson and mold
their lives around people like that," he said, adding his father would
have been happy to receive the award if he were alive today.
Tara Johnson, Henry Johnson's granddaughter,
said she was overwhelmed by the the love that the Albany community has
shown to her grandfather.
"I'm just really proud that I could be here with
my family and able to represent my grandfather," said the Toledo, Ohio,
resident. "It's just a beautiful thing. The people of Albany have been
wonderful."
Tara Johnson said she and her family are still
learning about her grandfather's accomplishments. Her son featured him in
book reports for school and when she visited the Henry Johnson exhibit
Saturday at the Schenectady Museum and Planetarium, she was
touched.
"I could have just sat in the corner of that
museum for hours learning about my grandfather," she
said.
Bittersweet honor for long-dead hero: February
1, 2003
Nearly 85 years after Henry Johnson
single-handedly battled back two dozen German troops, the Pentagon will
posthumously award the former Albany resident the Distinguished Service
Cross, the Army's second highest honor.
Johnson, who was an African-American sergeant in
the segregated unit of the 369th Infantry of the New York National Guard,
will be honored for his heroism at 2 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Crowne Plaza
Hotel as part of the Black, Puerto Rican and Hispanic Legislative Caucus
Weekend.
Family members, local veterans, state officials
and military historians had lobbied the Army for years to bestow upon
Johnson the nation's top military award, the Medal of Honor. On Friday,
however, his supporters expressed satisfaction and excitement with the
Department of Defense's decision.
"I really think he deserves the cross, and Negro
history deserves it," said Herman Johnson, the World War I veteran's only
surviving son, from his office in Kansas City, Mo. "Young blacks and
African-Americans need to know we've been doing great things for years.
It's important. And if we let these things die, people will never know
about them."
Herman Johnson, now 86, his wife and their
daughter will come to Albany, where U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer and Rep.
Michael R. McNulty of Green Island will award them the Distinguished
Service Cross.
"It's particularly important that Herman see his
father honored within his lifetime," Schumer said. "The only bittersweet
aspect is we believe he deserves the Medal of Honor, and we're not going
to stop fighting for it."
Schumer announced the date of the ceremony on
Friday, on the eve of Black History Month and as the nation's military
mobilizes for a possible strike against Iraq.
Plans for a Washington, D.C., ceremony honoring
Henry Johnson, to be held in the Hall of Heroes in the Pentagon on Feb.
14, still were being worked out, his son said.
Capital Region veterans saluted the
honor.
"We're extremely thankful to the Army," said
John Howe of Albany, an African-American Vietnam War veteran who led the
campaign to recognize Henry Johnson. "They were prodded a little, but this
says they will not forget."
Henry Johnson fought in France under the French
flag in a unit later known as the "Harlem Hell Fighters."
While on sentry duty in the early morning hours
of May 15, 1918, he rebuffed a German raider party with rifle fire and
hand-to-hand combat. He suffered 21 wounds, yet managed to rescue his
critically injured partner, Needham Roberts, from the enemy while forcing
their retreat.
The French government awarded Henry Johnson the
Croix de Guerre with Gold Palm.
After the armistice, the federal government used
Johnson's likeness to advertise war bonds and recruit minorities but did
not recognize his bravery until June 25, 1996, when he was posthumously
awarded a Purple Heart.
State historians found Henry Johnson's grave in
Arlington National Cemetery only last year.
Johnson's tombstone will be replaced in about 45
days with one that properly reflects his new honor, Howe said. He noted
that Johnson may be the earliest black soldier to receive the
Distinguished Service Cross.
Henry Johnson settled in Albany during his
teens. A small, quiet man, he stood just 5 feet 4 inches and weighed 130
pounds. He worked mainly as a redcap porter at Albany's Union Station on
Broadway. For a while, he worked in a coal yard and as a soda mixer in a
pharmacy.
After the war, he returned to Albany and soon
was feted in a New York City ticker-tape parade. But the cheers soon
faded. He died a destitute alcoholic in New York City at the age of 32,
estranged from his wife and three children and largely
forgotten.
But today, his reputation in Albany has been
restored. His statue occupies a prominent spot in Washington Park, and a
boulevard bears his name.
Press Report: 19 March 2002:
Black war hero to receive Distinguished Service
Cross
The United States Army has agreed to give the
Distinguished Service Cross to a black World War I soldier whose body was recently
discovered buried at Arlington National Cemetery, an Army spokeswoman said
Tuesday.
Lawmakers from New York, who had sought
the military's highest honor for Henry Johnson, responded with federal
legislation to permit President Bush to award him the Medal of
Honor.
The bill would also propose a review of the
service records of other black World War I veterans to determine whether
they were overlooked for awards of valor.
Johnson, of Albany, New York, joined the Army
National Guard's "Harlem Hellfighter" unit during World War I. Because of
strict segregation rules at the time, the black American unit fought under
the French in Europe.
On May 14, 1918, Johnson fought off a German
raiding party with a rifle and later with a knife after running out of
ammunition. Wounded 21 times by the Germans, he was still able to rescue a
wounded comrade. France awarded Johnson its highest honor, the Croix de
Guerre. He was the first American to receive the French accolade and was
cited by former President Theodore Roosevelt as one of the five bravest
Americans during World War I, New York Gov. George Pataki said.
Yet Johnson died in 1929, in his mid-30s, a poor
alcoholic undecorated by his own country. For a long time it was believed
that he had never been recognized in the United States but records New
York officials dug up as they gathered material to support his application
for a Medal of Honor showed he had received some recognition after
returning from Europe, including riding in a ticker-tape parade in
Manhattan.
In January, the state Division of Military and
Naval Affairs learned that Johnson was buried in Arlington National
Cemetery. That came as a surprise to his son, Herman Johnson, 85, of
Kansas City, Missouri, who always believed his father had been buried in
an unmarked grave underneath the tarmac at Albany International
Airport.
The younger Johnson came to the cemetery of
heroes with Pataki in January to decorate his father's grave. Herman
Johnson said at the time he believed racism was in part to blame for the
military's failure to decorate his father.
The Distinguished Service Cross, considered one
of nation's highest military honors, has been awarded to 12,450 people
since it was created in 1918, Army spokeswoman Elaine Kanellis
said.
But it isn't good enough for Johnson, his
supporters say.
"I think what he did deserves the Medal of
Honor," Herman Johnson said.
From a press report: 10 February
2002
Search reveals a hero's life
Like the nation he served, the story of Henry
Johnson grows and changes
The legend: Henry Johnson, World War I hero from
Albany, whose exploits were largely ignored by a segregated society, was
buried in a pauper's grave.
The truth: Henry Johnson, a man who rose from
poverty, went to war, won France's highest honor and came home to fame and
ticker-tape parades, was buried alongside the nation's most honored dead
in Arlington National Cemetery.
The story of Henry Johnson is one of heroism and
downfall. But the more nuanced portrait that is emerging as supporters
renew the push for him to receive the Medal of Honor also is a story about
how myths are made and unmade.
New information is making it clear that Johnson
was initially lionized by a grateful nation. But like many war heroes
before and after his era, Johnson had trouble adjusting to his return to
civilian life, particularly in a society that treated blacks, even those
who had fought heroically for their nation, as second-class citizens. He
died an obscure alcoholic.
Military historians, African-American activists
and state politicians, buoyed by the recent discoveries of the Arlington
grave and a handful of Johnson-related artifacts, are offering a fuller
picture of the "Harlem Hellfighter'' from downtown Albany.
"It puts it in context,'' said Albany resident
John Howe, pointing to a photograph of Johnson participating in a parade
on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan after the war, buried by flowers thrown from
both blacks and whites.
Howe, who has led the unsuccessful efforts to
get Johnson the Medal of Honor, believes Johnson has not been fully
recognized because of his race. But another reality is emerging in light
of such recent discoveries as Johnson's long-overlooked grave and a 1919
placard advertising an Albany "Hear Our War Heroes'' talk from Johnson,
which is owned by Albany antiques collector Lawrence Kohn.
"He was honored in his lifetime,'' Kohn
insisted.
Until last month, historians assumed Johnson was
buried in a pauper's grave in Colonie. That helped foster the notion that
he was a forgotten hero.
But no one bothered to check with Arlington
National Cemetery, where, it turns out, he had been buried with other
American war heroes.
It was newly found historical sources --
including old news clippings from African-American publications, Johnson's
death certificate (found in New York City) and old literature -- that led
researchers to Arlington.
But a decade after being honored in a Manhattan
ticker-tape parade, Johnson died a destitute alcoholic at the age of 32,
estranged from his wife and three kids and generally forgotten by
Albany.
"He was a real tragic figure and it is a tragic
story,'' said Scott Sandman of the state Division of Military and Naval
Affairs, who assisted in finding Johnson's grave.
"In the initial period after the war, he was
touted by politicians,'' Sandman said. "But once all that was over,
everyone forgot about Henry Johnson.''
Johnson was born to "very poor parentage'' in
Alexandria, Virginia, and lived a "hand-to-mouth life'' in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, according to a 1928 book "Rank and File'' by Theodore
Roosevelt Jr., the son of President Theodore Roosevelt and himself a
highly decorated veteran of World War I who later won the Medal of Honor
posthumously for World War II exploits on Utah Beach during D-Day. The
book listed Johnson as one of the top five American heroes of the First
World War.
Johnson drifted up to the Capital Region in his
midteens. He was a small man, just 5 feet 4, and weighed 130 pounds. He
worked mainly as a redcap porter at the Albany Union Station on Broadway.
For a while, he worked in a coal yard and as a soda mixer in a
pharmacy.
He met the woman who would become his wife,
Minnie, either at a church in Schenectady, where her father was pastor, or
in an Albany church. The couple moved into downtown Albany at 23 Monroe
St., in the shadows of the old Knickerbocker Press building, just two
years before he enlisted. It was close to his job at the train
station.
"He had a great sense of humor and people liked
him,'' said his only surviving son, Herman Johnson, 85, a Tuskegee Airman
during World War II, who now resides in Kansas City, Missouri. "He also
dressed well.''
Johnson enlisted in the Army on June 5, 1917, in
the Marcy Avenue Armory in Brooklyn. He was assigned to Company C, 15th
New York Infantry, an all-black National Guard unit later renamed the
369th U.S. Infantry Regiment. During the war, they were called the Harlem
Hellfighters.
As a Private, Johnson first worked guard duty in
Albany and Rotterdam for a few months before being sent to South Carolina
for combat training. He arrived in France on New Year's Day 1918, as a
member of one of the first American units dispatched to Europe. The 369th
served under French command and its troops were issued French uniforms,
weapons and rations and were trained in French tactics.
American military units sent to Europe early in
the war fought under French command, whether they were black or white.
Indeed, a white unit from Albany, the National Guard's 51st U.S. Pioneer
Infantry, also fought under foreign leadership. Black troops who arrived
later fought under American command.
After a brief stint unloading ships and digging
latrines, and with only three weeks of special training, Johnson and
Needham Roberts, a black Private from Trenton, New Jersey, were assigned
to sentry duty at Outpost 29 in the Argonne Forest.
Johnson's hours of fame -- the midnight-to-4
a.m. tour of duty that forever changed his life -- occurred on May 15,
1918, when German troops raided the outpost in an attempt to capture some
of the newly arrived U.S. troops.
An account of the fierce fight was written by
Major Arthur W. Little in his book "From Harlem to the Rhine.'' Little,
who was white, commanded the 369th, and he conducted a field study of the
battle as soon as the sun came up that morning.
Little's story documents Johnson's
bravery:
The one-hour battle commenced at 2 a.m. when
German troops lobbed grenades at the post where Roberts and Johnson were
stationed. Both were injured.
Roberts was shot in the knee or hip and was
incapacitated. But Johnson immediately returned to his feet to empty
his rifle's three bullets into the oncoming German troops.
After running out of ammunition, Johnson used
his rifle butt as a weapon, attacking two Germans who were trying to carry
Roberts away. He was then shot by one of the soldiers he had
bludgeoned.
As the Germans closed in, Johnson retaliated,
slashing the soldier who had shot him in the abdomen with a 9-inch
double-edged machete. Roberts, sitting upright in the bunker, began
feeding Johnson grenades, which he threw at the retreating
Germans.
Little reported that the attacking German unit
consisted of "a minimum of 24 men.'' He recorded that Johnson killed at
least four Germans and "wounded double that.''
After the Germans retreated, Johnson fainted
from the shock of the fight. He was brought to a field hospital, where he
and Roberts were treated.
In his quest to win Johnson the Medal of Honor,
Howe cited both the Roosevelt Jr. and Little accounts. He also used
information from the contemporary "From Slavery to Freedom,'' by John Hope
Franklin, one of the nation's leading black historians.
Johnson spent several weeks in a French hospital
with injuries to his left arm, back, feet and face, most of which were
caused by knives and bayonets. In total, he suffered nearly 20 wounds.
Doctors inserted a silver plate into his left foot.
"There wasn't anything so fine about it. Just
fought for my life. A rabbit would have done that,'' Johnson said,
according to W. Allison Sweeney's "History of the American Negro in the
Great World War,'' written shortly after World War I.
While the French honored him with the Croix de
Guerre with a gold palm -- France's highest decoration for bravery -- the
U.S. government was less forthcoming. Despite his injuries, when Johnson
was discharged as a Sergeant from the Army on Feb. 14, 1919, he did not
receive any disability allowance. Johnson's discharge papers included no
mention of his wounds, a common clerical error of the time.
He did, however, receive a hero's welcome from
the American public. Days after his discharge, Johnson was guest of honor
at a Manhattan homecoming parade. He rode in a Cadillac open
car.
"He stood up nearly the entire time, bowing to
the applause and grinning broadly,'' Roosevelt Jr. wrote.
After the parade, Johnson took a slow journey
from Wall Street back to Harlem, according to Howe. He drank for three
days straight.
For a few years after the war, Johnson traveled
widely. He traversed the country promoting the sale of Liberty Bonds. His
image was used by the Army for recruitment. Albany trolley cars displayed
this advertisement for Victory War Stamps: "Henry Johnson licked a dozen
Germans. How many stamps have you licked?''
During the euphoric period after the war, his
family was a favorite of the media.
"He enlisted to get those Germans, and I guess
he (did),'' Minnie told the Knickerbocker Press, a morning Albany
newspaper.
Johnson lived on Orange Street in Albany after
returning from the war. He tried to return to his job at the Albany train
station, but he couldn't handle the work. Still suffering from his
injuries, faced with racism at home and a feeling of deflation after so
many parties in his honor, Johnson soon became poor and
dissolute.
"It was almost impossible for him to hold down a
job once he got stateside,'' Sandman said. "He was largely forgotten and
left to fend for himself. He resorted to alcohol, which ultimately led to
his demise.''
The Johnsons separated in 1924. Minnie took her
kids to Schenectady, where they were raised by their grandfather. Herman
Johnson saw his father occasionally on summer weekends.
"He had a feeling of depression coming back
because he was relegated to the lowest type of employment with great
uncertainty,'' Herman Johnson said. "Albany's just beginning to respect
what he did.''
The achievements of American blacks abroad did
nothing to improve black equality at home.
Black soldiers returned from World War I to the
"Red Summer of 1919,'' which was characterized by white riots and
lynchings, said Allen Ballard, professor of history at the University at
Albany. Federal buildings and agencies, including the military, were
segregated, despite a period of desegregation after the Civil
War.
Many of the 369th veterans had difficulty
returning to that, said retired Major Geneeral Nathaniel James, president
of the 369th Veterans Association and Historical Society.
Roberts, Johnson's comrade-in-arms, died in a
mental institution, James
said.
On July 5, 1929, Johnson was buried after dying
virtually penniless.
He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart on
June 25, 1996. In Albany, he has his own statue and a street named in his
honor.
But the Medal of Honor has remained
elusive.
In late 2000, the application for the medal was
approved by then-Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera. But last April,
after the change from the Clinton administration to the Bush
administration, the action was rejected by General Harry Shelton, then
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A positive recommendation from Shelton would
have sent the matter to President Bush for a final decision.
Shelton's rejection left the application's
status in limbo. Theoretically, the process would have to start from
scratch again, but earlier this month Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.,
asked the present Joint Chiefs chairman, General Richard Myers, to keep
the process alive by reconsidering the decision.
"Johnson should really get the medal. It could
kind of close a book on that time of history,'' James said.
Army and Pentagon spokesmen would not say last
week where Johnson's Medal of Honor application stands.
Schumer presses Pentagon on Medal of
Honor for World War I hero February
3, 2002
WASHINGTON - Senator Charles Schumer of New York
has called on the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs to reconsider last
year's decision by the military not
to award the Medal of Honor to a World War I hero.
If General Richard Myers does not reverse the
decision, the effort to posthumously award the medal to Sergeant Henry
Johnson, started in 1996, would have to begin again. There is no formal appeals process.
In a letter Schumer sent to the Pentagon on
Monday, he said "it would be extremely unfair to force Sergeant Johnson's
application to undergo an entirely new review. Segeant Johnson's family
and supporters have fought for too long to gain him the recognition
warranted by his actions on the battlefield."
In April, Myers' predecessor, General Henry
Shelton, did not endorse the recommendation of former Army Secretary Louis
Caldera to award Johnson the Medal of Honor.
Schumer said the recent discovery by the New
York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs that Johnson is buried
in Arlington National Cemetery, under the name William Henry Johnson, bolsters the argument that
Johnson is deserving of the nation's highest military honor.
Before this discovery, it had been assumed that
Johnson was buried in a potter's field in Albany, his hometown.
"The military's inaction on this case is
becoming increasingly inexplicable as more evidence of the historical
record surrounding Johnson's heroism becomes uncovered. Burial in
Arlington National Cemetery is reserved for the truest of
American heroes, so it's obvious that at some
point someone in the U.S. military establishment took notice of Johnson's service," Schumer
said in the letter.
Johnson joined the famed Army National Guard's
"Harlem Hellfighter" unit during World War I. Because of strict segregation rules in the Army
at the time, the black American unit
fought under the French in Europe.
On May 14, 1918, Johnson fought off a German
raiding party with a rifle, then with a knife after he ran out of ammunition. Wounded 21 times by
the Germans, he managed to rescue a
wounded comrade.
France awarded Johnson its highest honor, the
Croix de Guerre with Palm. He was the first American to receive the
accolade and was cited by former President Theodore Roosevelt as one of the five bravest Americans
during World War I.
In addition, the U.S. military has used
Johnson's likeness to advertise war bonds and to recruit in minority communities.
From a press report: Friday January 11,
2002
Black World War Hero Located at
Arlington
Herman Johnson always believed that his father,
a heroic black World War I soldier who single-handedly fended off a German
attack, lay in a pauper's grave unrecognized by the government.
On Thursday, the 85-year-old Johnson saw the
newly discovered grave at Arlington National Ceremony where Henry Johnson
was buried more than 70 years ago - with full military honors.
With New York Governor George Pataki at his
side, an emotional Herman Johnson on Thursday placed a wreath of
chrysanthemums and carnations beside his father's white headstone as a
lone military bugler played "Taps.''
"I'm overwhelmed,'' said Herman Johnson. "I'm
extremely happy to know that my father is in a respectable
grave.''
The younger Johnson, Pataki and New York
military officials are hoping the discovery breathes new life into their
push to get Henry Johnson recognized with the Medal of Honor, an oversight
they believe is due at least in part to race.
"Some people ask me if it's racism that he
didn't receive the Medal of Honor - I say, 'Certainly,''' Herman Johnson
said. "What he did ought to be honored. I'm not condemning anyone ... but
we have a chance to make it right.''
The Medal of Honor application, submitted in
1996, was approved by then-Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera in 2001.
But Joint Chiefs Chairman Henry Shelton did not concur. The matter is
still open and could be reconsidered.
It was the campaign to get Johnson the Medal of
Honor that led to the revelation that he was buried in the nation's
cemetery of heroes.
Johnson, from Albany, New York, joined the Army
National Guard's "Harlem Hellfighter'' unit during World War I. Because of
strict segregation rules at the time, the black American unit fought under
the French in Europe. On May 14, 1918, Johnson fought off a German raiding
party with a rifle and later with a knife after he ran out of ammunition.
Wounded 21 times by the Germans, he nonetheless rescued a wounded comrade.
France awarded Johnson its highest honor, the Croix de Guerre. He was the
first American to receive the French accolade and was cited by former
President Theodore Roosevelt as one of the five bravest Americans during
World War I, Pataki said.
Yet Johnson died in 1929, in his mid-30s, a poor
alcoholic undecorated by his own country.
Herman Johnson believes that if his father had
been recognized when he returned home he "might have been a different
man.''
The younger Johnson said his parents divorced
when he was about 6 years old. He moved away from Albany and only saw his
father sporadically. Herman Johnson was in his early teens when his father
died. He was led to believe he had been buried in a pauper's cemetery
paved over to make way for Albany International Airport. Johnson
even went once to the airport and looked out on the runway, believing it
was his father's grave.
Herman Johnson went on to serve with the
legendary Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and live in Kansas City,
Missouri, where he worked in real estate. He still operates a cemetery
there.
Henry Johnson's final resting place remained
undiscovered until state military officials researching his military
service for the Medal of Honor last year came upon a newspaper clipping
from a black newspaper in upstate New York that mentioned his burial at
Arlington National Cemetery, located just outside Washington.
At first, a search of microfilm records at
Arlington turned up only a William Henry Johnson. When New York officials
asked the cemetery to check the paper records, they saw that "William''
had been crossed out and that other dates and records matched
up.
"He got at least an appropriate burial,'' Pataki
said. "But we're not going to stop until we get him the Medal of
Honor.''
New
York Gov. George Pataki, right, along with Herman Johnson,
left, and
PFC Gerald Jilliard of the New York Army National Guard, prepare
to place
a wreath at the gravesite of Johnson's father, World War I
hero Sgt.
Henry Johnson at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington,
Va. Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002. The wreath laying was to honor Sgt.
Johnson, a famed member of the Harlem Hellfighters.
New
York Gov. George Pataki, right, along with Herman
Johnson, left, and Pfc
Gerald Jilliard of the New York Army National
Guard, pause after placing a wreath at the gravesite of Johnson's
father, World War I hero Sergeant Henry Johnson at Arlington
National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Thursday, Jan. 10,
2002
Posted:
12 January 2002 Updated: 29 January 2002 Updated: 21 March
2002 Updated: 17 February 2003 Updated: 11 April
2003 Updated: 4 February
2004 Updated: 15 May 2006 |