The Navy formally renamed the arrange, beforehand usually referred to as Fort Polk, Louisiana, Fort Johnson on June 13.
The fort, home to the tenth Mountain Division's Joint Readiness Teaching Coronary heart and third Brigade Struggle Crew, derives its new title from New York Nationwide Guard Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a black soldier of World Battle I who fought bravely in direction of German forces as a member of the well-known Harlem Hellfighters.
“Sgt. “Henry Johnson embodied the warrior spirit and we’re deeply honored to bear his title inside the Dwelling of Heroes,” acknowledged Brigadier Regular. Gen. David Gardner, the underside's commanding regular, acknowledged in a press launch.
Johnson enlisted inside the fifteenth New York Infantry Regiment — a Black American Nationwide Guard unit later designated the 369th Infantry Regiment — in 1917, about two months after the USA entered World Battle I, the assertion acknowledged.
The Harlem Hellfighter single-handedly repelled a German raiding event in May 1918 alongside together with his rifle butt, grenades, fists and a knife, saving fellow soldier Needham Roberts from seize.
“Every slash meant one factor, think about me,” Johnson as quickly as acknowledged. “There was nothing so good about it… I was merely combating for my life. A rabbit would have achieved that.”
Johnson suffered 21 wounds and was unable to return to work as a baggage handler after the warfare.
For his actions, he turned certainly one of many first Folks to acquire the French military decoration Croix de Guerre, the navy assertion acknowledged.
The brave soldier died in 1929 and is buried at Arlington Nationwide Cemetery. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Purple Coronary coronary heart, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Medal of Honor.
“It is a specific pleasure and honor to represent the New York Nationwide Guard on the Fort Polk to Fort Henry Johnson rededication ceremony,” acknowledged Brigadier Regular. Gen. Isabel Rivera Smith, chief of joint staff of the New York Nationwide Guard, acknowledged inside the launch. “As a Black American whose bravery was not acknowledged on the time, Sgt. Johnson embodied the Navy's values and was the epitome of energy. As a former member of the 369th Harlem Hellfighters, I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this ceremony.”
The renaming is consistent with legal guidelines requiring the eradicating or alteration of Safety Division belongings that commemorate the Confederate States of America or those who voluntarily served beneath the Confederacy. The Louisiana put up is one among 9 Navy installations being renamed.
The Navy arrange was beforehand named after Confederate Regular Leonidas Polk, a New Orleans resident who was killed in battle in 1864.
Initially printed by Navy Situations, our sister publication.