American Hero: William Henry Johnson, New York National Guard 

On 19 March 2002, the United States Army agreed to give the Distinguished Service Cross to Henry Johnson, a black World War I New York National Guardsman whose body was recently discovered buried at Arlington National Cemetery. "William Henry Johnson" was a soldier in the 369th Infantry Regiment (New York National Guard) and was the first American to receive the French "Croix de Guerre with Gold Palm".

The 369th had been attached to the French 16th Division and soon became known as the "Harlem Hellfighters" for their tenacity and bravery. Johnson would become an integral part of their legend.

On the night of 14 May 1918, Privates Johnson and Needham Roberts were part of a five-man patrol on duty in an advance listening post along the front line. The other three soldiers were off-watch and sleeping in a dugout to the rear when a 24-man German raiding party caught the post by surprise with a violent grenade attack. Both Johnson and Roberts fought back with rifle fire and were seriously wounded, but managed to stop the first attack long enough to crawl to their own supply of grenades.

Throwing grenades like baseballs at batting practice, they ripped into the next attack while Johnson continuously shouted "Turn out the Guard". Grabbing his rifle again, he shot down a German and then clubbed the next one to death with its buttstock. Turning, he spotted Roberts surrounded by three "Boche" who were choking him into submission. Out of grenades and with his Berthier rifle jammed and broken, Johnson pulled out his bolo knife and cleft the skull of one German in a single stroke. Roberts broke free and continued fighting against fierce odds. One of the Germans called Johnson a "black bastard" -- in English!

Johnson then fell wounded and dazed to another bullet, but grabbed a grenade off a dead German. The blast devastated his attackers and Johnson later remarked the Germans were probably returned to their families wrapped in a newspaper.

The other three soldiers had been knocked senseless in their dugout by the first grenade attack, but by the time they finally emerged to reinforce the two scouts, the Germans had run away, leaving their dead comrades, weapons, wire cutters, grenades and a number of rifles and automatic weapons. When reinforcements arrived, they found the two black soldiers laughing and singing surrounded by mangled, dead Huns.

Johnson and Roberts were both peppered with shrapnel and shot several times, but remained in good humor and reportedly saw the experience as a great adventure. The story quickly spread like wildfire among the French units, especially the part about the bolo knife, and well wishers from all along the front stopped by the hospital with gifts and kind words.

Upon reading a brief and bland American report on the incident, the French commanding general conducted his own investigation and learned the full story from eyewitness accounts. "The American report is too modest," he exclaimed in a letter to Pershing. "As a result of oral information furnished me, it appears the blacks were extremely brave. This little combat does honor to all Americans!". A French general even had the German's cap framed.

To underscore his respect for Johnson and Roberts, they were awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm leaf for Valor, France's highest medal for bravery in combat and among the first given to Americans in the war. Johnson was also cited by former President Theodore Roosevelt as one of the five bravest Americans during World War I. While honored with a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, his battlefield bravery has never been recognized with the appropriate American military award. But both Johnson and Roberts were crippled for life. Johnson died years later of alcoholism, Roberts pretty much disappeared.

While his son, Herman Johnson (who served with the famed Tuskeegee Airmen in World War II) had always believed his fatherr had been buried in an unmarked grave underneath the tarmac at Albany International Airport, the Albany N.Y station porter was actually buried with military honors at Arlington Military Cemetary on 5 July 1929. However, this fact was forgotten and it wasn't until January 2002 that his grave was located.

In 1996, New York Governor George Pataki directed the Division of Military and Naval affairs to submit a nomination package for Johnson to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. The nomination was approved in January 2001 by Louis Caldera, former Secretary of the Army. In April Gen. Henry Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reviewed the nomination but did not concur, however, the matter remains open and may still be acted upon.

Finally, HR 3890 IH ( http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c107:4:./temp/~c107ftoQMS:: ) placed before the United States Senate on 19 March 2002 would allow President Bush to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Henry Johnson and to direct the Secretary of the Army to conduct a review of military service records to determine whether certain other African American World War I veterans should be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during that war.

The story of Private Johnson is the "stuff of legends", to the point that a movie script has been written about his travails ( http://www.reelwriter.com/hjohnson.shtm#synopsis ).

Photographs of the 369th Infantry and African Americans during World War I can be found online at (http://www.nara.gov/education/cc/369th.html). The heritage of the 369th Infantry Regiment is perpetuated in today's Army by the New York Army National Guard's 369th Corps Support Battalion ( http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/map/nyc-5th.html ), located on 5th Avenue in New York City. - Adam Geibel