Welcome to the Evolving Man Project’s “Evolved Man of the Week” profile. Each week, we will highlight an individual who embodies what it means to be an evolved man, famous and non-famous individuals alike. The world needs to know their stories and deeds. This week’s honor goes to the U.S. Army Soldier and historical figure Henry Johnson.
Born William Henry Johnson in Winston Salem, North Carolina, Johnson moved to New York as a teenager. He worked various jobs – as a chauffeur, soda mixer, laborer in a coal yard, and a redcap porter at Albany’s Union Station. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 5, 1917. He was assigned to Company C, 15th New York (Colored) Infantry Regiment – an all-black National Guard unit that would later become the 369th Infantry Regiment.
Johnson trained for months until the unit deployed to France in December 1917. When they deployed to Europe, the regiment was renamed the 369th Infantry Regiment, part of the segregated 93d Infantry Division.
Upon arrival, Army leadership assigned the 93d to non-combat roles. They performed manual labor, such as unloading supplies from ships and digging latrines. Many white Soldiers treated their Black comrades poorly, with some refusing to be stationed in the same trenches as African Americans. Despite a desire to keep American units together, Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing detached the 369th Infantry to serve with the French on April 8, 1918. While the U.S. Army kept its forces segregated, the French chose to integrate their forces with Black soldiers from their empire. As a result, Johnson and the 369th deployed to the front alongside white French soldiers who generally treated them better than many white American Soldiers. Equipped with French helmets and rifles and taught enough French to understand orders, the 369th deployed near the Argonne Forest and integrated with the French 161st division.
In May 1918, in the Argonne Forest of Northeast France, Johnson fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing multiple German soldiers and rescuing a fellow soldier before fainting from the 21 wounds with which he was afflicted.
Johnson returned home from his tour and was unable to return to his pre-war porter position due to the severity of his 21 combat injuries. Johnson died in July 1929. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Johnson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in 1996, the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002, and the Medal of Honor in 2015.
Sgt. Henry Johnson is “one of the five bravest American soldiers in the war.”
– Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Henry Johnson is among the many black service members who honorably served their country. A nation that had a long history of not honoring or respecting those who shared the same skin color as he did. Black servicemembers have fought honorably in every single conflict in the U.S., from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror.
I was one of those servicemembers at one time—black Americans continue to have a long history of military service. Henry Johnson served with honor, valor, and grit, which made him a hero. Today, we honor Henry Johnson as our Evolved Man of the Week.
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