Threads in our Fabric Henry Johnson (Black Death) Medal of Honor

Henry Johnson enlisted
in the United States Armed Forces on
June 5, 1917 as a 5-foot-4-inch young man. This was almost two months after
the American entry into
World War I, joining the all-black New York National Guard 15th
Infantry Regiment, which, when mustered into Federal service, was redesignated
as the 369th Infantry Regiment, and
was then based in Harlem. The
369th Infantry joined the 185th Infantry Brigade upon arrival in France, but
was relegated to labor service duties instead of combat training. The 185th
Infantry Brigade was in turn assigned on January 5, 1918, to the 93rd Infantry Division.

Although General John
J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
on the Western Front,
wished to keep the American forces autonomous, he "loaned" the 369th
to the 161st Division of the French Army.
Supposedly, the unreported and unofficial reason he was willing to detach the
African-American regiments from U.S. command was that vocal white U.S. soldiers
refused to fight alongside black troops.

The
French Army needed more men and welcomed the reinforcements. The 369th Infantry
regiment, later nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters", was among the
first to arrive in France, and among the most highly decorated when it
returned. The 369th was an all-black unit under the command of mostly white
officers, including their commander, Colonel William Hayward. The idea of a
black New York National Guard regiment had first been put forward by Charles W.
Fillmore, a black New Yorker. Governor Charles Seymour Whitman, inspired by the brave showing of the black 10th Cavalry in Mexico, authorized the project. He appointed Colonel
Hayward to carry out the task of organizing the unit, and Hayward gave Fillmore
a commission as a captain in the 15th Infantry Regiment, New York National
Guard. The 15th New York Infantry Regiment became the 369th United States
Infantry Regiment prior to engaging in combat in France.

The French government
awarded Johnson the Croix de guerre with a special
citation and a golden palm. He was the first American soldier to receive the
award.

In June 1996, Johnson
was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart by
President Bill Clinton. In
February 2003, the Distinguished Service Cross, the
Army's second highest award, was awarded to Johnson. John Howe, a Vietnam War veteran
who had campaigned tirelessly for recognition for Johnson, and U.S. Army Major General Nathaniel James, President of
the 369th Veterans' Association, were present at the
ceremony in Albany. The award was received by Herman A. Johnson, one
of the Tuskegee Airmen of
WWII, on behalf of Henry Johnson, then believed to be his father; the mistake
was not clarified until 2015, a decade after the younger Johnson's death, as
part of the further research done leading up to the senior Johnson's Medal of
Honor.

On May 14, 2015,
the White House announced
that Johnson would receive the Medal of Honor posthumously,
presented by President Barack Obama. In
the ceremony, held on 2 June 2015, Johnson's medal was received on his behalf
by Command Sergeant Major Louis Wilson of the New York National Guard. Obama
said, "The least we can do is to say, 'We know who you are. We know what
you did for us. We are forever grateful.'"

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