Fort Polk in Louisiana will be renamed in honor of Albany resident Sergeant Henry Johnson. The renaming will occur in June and comes after Congress authorized the Naming Commission to provide new names for U.S. military bases and other Department of Defense installations originally named after Confederate leaders. Johnson, a member of the Harlem Hellfighters, was awarded a Medal of Honor in 2015 for his actions in World War I – in which he fought off a German advance and rescued a fellow soldier from capture.
The Army installation is home to the Joint Readiness Training Center and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division. Its current namesake is Confederate General Leonidas Polk, who was also a bishop and an enslaver. He was a cousin of President James Polk and historians have questioned his military success and noted disagreements he had with superiors.
Despite being initially celebrated for his 1918 actions – including leading his regiment’s homecoming parade up Fifth Avenue in New York City in February 1919 and a dinner with Governor Al Smith – Johnson’s heroics were later forgotten by many. Left severely wounded from combat, he died impoverished in 1929. Following advocacy efforts, Johnson was finally awarded the Purple Heart in 1996 – an award presented to every American servicemember wounded in combat. In 2002, Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest award for valor. Finally, 97 years after what became known as the Battle of Henry Johnson, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Johnson in a White House Ceremony in June 2015. The man who accepted the medal on Johnson’s behalf was New York Army National Guard Command Sergeant Major Louis Wilson. WAMC's Jim Levulis spoke with Wilson, who is now retired, about the fort renaming.
Wilson: It's really interesting and exciting, because when Henry Johnson was awarded the Medal of Honor, I’d never thought that further down the road that a military facility will be named after him. And I have been Fort Polk twice in my military career. And it's something to say today that it will be renamed Fort Johnson. And I can say that I once trained there. So it’s an exciting part of his legacy.
Levulis: And this naming commission took recommendations from the public in 2021, receiving more than 34,000 potential names, eventually identifying over basically 3,500 usable ones. In total, nine were chosen. What in your mind is it about Sergeant Henry Johnson, his actions, his life that made him stand out among what is arguably a group of very deserving individuals?
Wilson: Henry Johnson, he's well known in the Albany area. And I worked in the Albany area, my last two years of military service. And that's when I learned a lot about him. And I believe since the fight to have him recognized as a hero, as a Black hero, a World War I hero, has come to light and I believe more educated now, as to the heroics of a person like him. And being in the New York Guard myself, retiring from the Army, and he was a New York Guardsman. It almost made me think that I was his Command Sergeant Major. But just to see his legacy lives on. Again, this is something really good.
And I believe the more that we talk about him, the more we become educated. And again it’s to highlight his life, his accomplishments. Where he joined the service, and let's say the next day, the next month, he became a hero. And so he is still a hero today, you know, with so many years have gone by that he is recognized for you know, his bravery and gallantry and the main thing I want to say is that he stood his ground, he never gave up. He fought that good fight. He protected his battle buddy and all his battle buddies, that that no harm will come to them, even though that he received over you know, 20 wounds himself. Just thankful that we are able to know him and honor him. And the next step in his life, you know, if he was here would be the renaming of Fort Polk into Fort Johnson.
Levulis: And to that point about the National Guard, it’s believed that this is the first fort to be named after a member of the National Guard. As mentioned, you served in the New York Army National Guard from 1976 until 2015, holding every enlisted leadership position from the squad level until your final role as Command Sergeant Major. What message do you think this sends in regards to the role of the National Guard in the overall U.S. armed forces?
Wilson: The National Guard part is and component of the Army and that we were in for the fight. We were in it to win. And we're part of the organization, we're part of the nation. Citizen soldiers as Henry Johnson was and myself as a citizen soldier. And it just comes together as a Guardsman being recognized to this point where it's unbelievable that a military installation will be named after him. And I just wish today, the present time, that he had a family that could be around to see this, because this is something else again, something great.
Levulis: You mentioned earlier that you have been to Fort Polk, which will be named Fort Johnson. And then over the course of your roughly 40-year military career, you likely spent countless hours at numerous other military installations. Did you ever stop and consider who they were named after?
Wilson: Yes, I did years ago. And you know as time passed, and you forget a few things, but it's almost where I am an old soldier where those old names will always be there. But now it's time to learn the new names, and that you never would have thought that there would be a name change. But going back to as Henry Johnson, a Black soldier, National Guardsmen, something huge, and now hopefully that people will research and find out who Henry Johnson really was, his legacy and what led him to receive the Medal of Honor.
Levulis: And this fort that we've been discussing is home to the Joint Readiness Training Center and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division meeting soldiers rotate through this installation before deploying, but it's also a home for thousands of soldiers and their families. So in a sense, this name will really be ingrained in the daily life of that area of Louisiana.
Wilson: Yes, can you believe it, that around Fort Polk/Fort Johnson, that the entire neighborhood, the entire installation, the entire county, and even as far as you know the state itself, will learn who Henry Johnson is not. That he was born in South Carolina, not that he entered the service in New York, but now he's part of history in Louisiana. So now his history, his life continues on at that fort. And I trained there a couple of times. And as you say, joint readiness. Yeah, we went there and trained and you know, the term was ‘in the box’ where it was realistic, hard training. But you came out as a warfighter ready to answer the nation's call. And I do believe that Henry Johnson was that person also, because he had the will in his heart to want to belong to something greater and larger, to belong to a military organization.
Levulis: The fort renaming and related efforts, such as the removal of Confederate statues have received a fair amount of criticism with some claiming certain aspects of history are being erased or altered. What are your thoughts on that?
Wilson: I believe you got to look at history at both hands, and I do, the good and the bad. And just work it down in the middle. And in the military, we are able to adapt to change. And this is one where we are able to and should be able to adapt to change. Because Henry Johnson, he had to adapt to change in the role that he went through in his civilian life and then his military life out, he had to fight to be in uniform, and then fight in uniform and then carry the same struggle out of uniform. To me, it's about adapting to change.
Levulis: If I understand correctly, you plan to attend the June renaming ceremony with members of the New York National Guard. You of course received the Medal of Honor from President Obama on behalf of Sergeant Henry Johnson in 2015. How do you expect this renaming ceremony to stack up to that?
Wilson: The greatest part of receiving the Medal of Honor on behalf of Henry Johnson, that was the greatest thing, but not looking down the road to see that a military installation would be named after him. I guess it's part one of his life. I guess this is part two, the renaming of Fort Polk to Fort Johnson, and my wife and I, Teresa, we are invited and do plan to attend the ceremony. It is just another great adventure that we can witness and be part of, and to continue his legacy. And so who knows, there could be a part three, we'll wait and see. And I believe the more that we talk about him, the more we become educated. And again it’s to highlight his life, his accomplishments. Where he joined the service, and let's say the next day, the next month, he became a hero. And so he is still a hero today, you know, with so many years have gone by that he is recognized for you know, his bravery and gallantry and the main thing I want to say is that he stood his ground, he never gave up. He fought that good fight. He protected his battle buddy and all his battle buddies, that that no harm will come to them, even though that he received over you know, 20 wounds himself. Just thankful that we are able to know him and honor him. And the next step in his life, you know, if he was here would be the renaming of Fort Polk into Fort Johnson.
As part of the renaming effort, Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia will be renamed Fort Walker in honor of Dr. Mary Walker. The Oswego, New York native is the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor, awarded for her actions to treat the wounded in battle and across enemy lines during the Civil War. Walker is the subject of this month’s episode of “A New York Minute In History.”
Sgt. Johnson was the subject of the podcast’s first episode in 2018.
