As a history major and amateur historian, it always surprises me when people overlook the history in their own backyard (I actually have history, literally, in my own backyard but that’s a tale for another night). I reside in New York’s Capitol District. We have history aplenty near here, from the Saratoga Battlefield (about 30 minutes from my home), to o Melville’s home, to the Schuyler mansions to the house where Legs Diamond was murdered. All sorts of history, everywhere. Everyplace is like that, even if you need to dig a bit.
Since Black History Month should not be relegated to February, I’d like to discuss one of Albany’s true heroes.
The 15th Infantry Regiment of New York’s National Guard was re-designated the 369th Infantry Regiment when mustered into Federal service for World War One. The 369th was based in Harlem and would soon be known to the nation as The Harlem Hellfighters. The regiment was mostly African American. Once in France, the unit was used for labor. Then, in April of 1918, the 369th was reassigned to the French Army, issued French weapons and went into combat. The unit served with distinction in the Allied advance into Germany.
This is not about the Harlem Hellfighters, however. This diary is about Albany resident William Henry Johnson.
Johnson was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on or about July 15, 1892. He moved to Albany, NY in his early teens and took a porter job at Albany’s Union Station, on Broadway. His draft card show his address as 23 Monroe Street, just a stone’s throw from the station. Johnson enlisted in the New York National Guard in June of 1917. His unit would eventually make its way to France and, ultimately, to the front lines of the war.
Johnson’s regiment was assigned to an outpost on the edge of the Argonne when:
Private Johnson distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a member of Company C, 369th Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division, American Expeditionary Forces, during combat operations against the enemy on the front lines of the Western Front in France on May 15, 1918. Private Johnson and another soldier were on sentry duty at a forward outpost when they received a surprise attack from a German raiding party consisting of at least 12 soldiers. While under intense enemy fire and despite receiving significant wounds, Private Johnson mounted a brave retaliation, resulting in several enemy casualties. When his fellow soldier was badly wounded, Private Johnson prevented him from being taken prisoner by German forces. Private Johnson exposed himself to grave danger by advancing from his position to engage an enemy soldier in hand-to-hand combat. Wielding only a knife and gravely wounded himself, Private Johnson continued fighting and took his Bolo knife and stabbed it through an enemy soldier's head. Displaying great courage, Private Johnson held back the enemy force until they retreated. Private Johnson's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Johnson suffered twenty-one wounds during this melee. He earned the nickname, The Black Death.
Ironically, Johnson’s heroism did not initially go unnoticed. The French government awarded Johnson the Croix de Guerre. It is France’s highest award for bravery and Johnson was the first American to receive the award. Famed newspaper writer Irving Cobb wrote of Johnson’s exploits in a August 24, 1918 Saturday Evening Post article entitled “Young Black Joe.” At about the same time, New York World reporter Lincoln Eyre got a front page story on “The Battle of Henry Johnson.”
Once back in the States, the Harlem Hellfighters received a hero’s welcome with parades all over New York. In many of the parades, Johnson rode in an open-top car, the star of the Hellfighters. Former President Theodore Roosevelt described Johnson as “one of the five bravest American soldiers in the war.”
Johnson was later asked to go on a tour promoting war bonds. In St. Louis, in 1919, Johnson was one of a number of speakers celebrating black soldiers. After most of speakers extolled how the white and black soldiers had come together to defeat the enemy, Johnson spoke. Johnson spoke about the racism faced by the 369th by their white comrades and how they only received a chance to be actual soldiers once the regiment was placed under French Command. The War Department was not amused.
During all this time, his own government never formally recognized Johnson’s bravery.
Johnson, like many other heroes, soon faded into obscurity. He returned to Albany, let the bottle get the best of him, and was soon forgotten. He contracted tuberculosis, was declared totally disabled and died on July 1, 1929 of heart complications.
Interest in Johnson was reignited in the 1970’s and 1980’s, mainly by veterans groups in the region. On Veterans Day 1991, the City of Albany dedicated a memorial to Johnson in Washington Park. Albany’s Northern Boulevard was renamed Henry Johnson Boulevard. In 1996 President Bill Clinton awarded Johnson the Purple Heart, for wounds suffered seventy-two years earlier.
Finally, on June 2, 2015, based on a bill introduced by Senator Chuck Schumer, Johnson was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama. The text of the citation is quoted above.
For years, many believed that Johnson had died in Albany and was buried in Albany’s Potters Field (where Albany International Airport now stands). Johnson’s death certificate was finally found. It shows that he died in Washington D.C. at 8:00pm on July 1st, at his residence. He was buried five days later in Arlington National Cemetery.
In another ironic twist, Herman Johnson and later Herman’s daughter Tara, believed they were the son and granddaughter of Henry Johnson. Herman was born in Schenectady New York and Henry, for a number of years, was part of his life. Herman believed that Henry, although no longer with his mother, was his father. In tracing next of kin when Johnson was to be awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States Army discovered that there was no family connection. Henry Johnson must have been merely a family friend. Tara, Herman’s daughter, theorized that her grandmother may have just wanted a positive male role model for Herman.
Herman was born in 1916 and would go on to be one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Despite no blood connection, Tara was invited to the White House Ceremony for William Henry Johnson by President Obama. Herman had died by then, believing Johnson was his father.