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Medal Of Honor For Albany WWI Hero Sgt. Henry Johnson

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas
Published August 26, 2014 at 4:57 PM EDT
WWI hero Henry Johnson is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
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WWI hero Henry Johnson is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The secretary of defense has recommended awarding a posthumous Medal of Honor to a black soldier from upstate New York who saved a comrade while fighting off a German attack in France during World War I.

Sen. Charles Schumer says Tuesday that Chuck Hagel has sent Congress a letter saying Sgt. Henry Johnson should receive the nation's highest military decoration for bravery in combat.

The railroad porter from Albany was serving in the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment when he killed or wounded several enemy soldiers while saving a fellow soldier from capture during a raid in May 1918.

The president gets the final word on the medal request, which also requires passage of special legislation in Congress because Johnson's actions were more than five years ago.

© 2014 AP
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Capital Region News Albanyworld war I
Dave Lucas
Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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