How the Story of This Medal of Honor Recipient Wounded 21 Times Was Almost Lost to History

Henry Johnson had reservations when he and another inexperienced American soldier were called on to serve on sentry duty in northeastern France's Forest of Argonne during World War I. Asked to guard an outpost of troops, Johnson was concerned it was too much responsibility at that stage in his military service. Still, Johnson told his corporal he'd "tackle the job." He did much more than that. During Johnson and fellow Pvt. Needham Roberts' shift, roughly 20 German troops attacked their position.The odds were overwhelming, but Johnson -- all 5 feet, 4 inches, and 130 pounds of him -- sprang into action. He fought valiantly, kept Roberts from being taken prisoner and successfully fended off the Germans. Johnson killed four enemy soldiers and wounded as many as 20 others, all while sustaining 21 wounds from bullets and shrapnel himself. "There wasn't anything so fine about it," Johnson later recalled. "Just fought for my life. A rabbit would have done that." Johnson was working odd jobs when he joined the National Guard and was assigned to Company C, 15th New York (Colored) Infantry Regiment, in 1917. The all-Black unit was rebranded the 369th Infantry Regiment -- forever immortalized as the Harlem Hellfighters -- after it departed for France during WWI.