The Harlem Hellfighters

Private Henry Johnson was on watch in the French trenches of the Argonne Forest on May 15, 1918, when a grenade exploded nearby.

- Wynne Crombie

With his fellow soldier Needham Roberts badly injured, Johnson faced an approaching German patrol on his own. He shot down one soldier and clubbed another with the end of his rifle. Wounded, Johnson fell to the ground. He seized a grenade and tossed it, and several more, at the Germans.

By the time he was through, the former porter for the New York Central Railroad had single-handedly wounded or killed as many as 20 enemy soldiers . . . with just a knife and a gun. He had more than 20 wounds of his own. The American press called the incident “the Battle of Henry Johnson.”

Two days later, the French presented Johnson with the Croix de Guerre, their country’s highest military decoration for bravery. He was the first U.S. soldier to receive the honor during World War I. When asked about his actions, Johnson said, “There isn’t so much to tell. Just fought for my life. A rabbit would’ve done that.”

When President Woodrow Wilson said, “The world must be made safe for democracy” in April 1917, many black Americans struggled with the call to support the war effort. African Americans faced daily discrimination and segregation in the United States. Still, more than 380,000 black Americans enlisted to serve in the army during World War I. They hoped that their military service would improve civil rights for all African Americans in the United States.