Posted on Jun 28, 2015
Medal of Honor recipient's story finally comes to light
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Medal of Honor recipient's story finally comes to light. Does it surprise you that we get so much of our history wrong?
It's time to set the record straight for Sgt. Henry Johnson.
Some of what history has recorded about the World War I soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor earlier this month is accurate. Even though he was wounded, he fought off German soldiers during an attack in France and saved a comrade from capture.
Much of the rest of the soldier's story has been altered over time: his real name, the place where he was born, where and how he died. Family members who believed he was their patriarch learned they weren't related at all.
This isn't unusual. History sometimes gets it wrong about historical figures, heroes and ancestors until researchers uncover information.
"It's really interesting - it's surprising how much of our history we get wrong," said genealogist and author Megan Smolenyak. "It's really frustrating and it's an uphill battle to get people to accept new information. They just want to accept what they've seen over and over again."
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/06/28/medal-of-honor-recipients-story-finally-comes-to-light/29424149/
It's time to set the record straight for Sgt. Henry Johnson.
Some of what history has recorded about the World War I soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor earlier this month is accurate. Even though he was wounded, he fought off German soldiers during an attack in France and saved a comrade from capture.
Much of the rest of the soldier's story has been altered over time: his real name, the place where he was born, where and how he died. Family members who believed he was their patriarch learned they weren't related at all.
This isn't unusual. History sometimes gets it wrong about historical figures, heroes and ancestors until researchers uncover information.
"It's really interesting - it's surprising how much of our history we get wrong," said genealogist and author Megan Smolenyak. "It's really frustrating and it's an uphill battle to get people to accept new information. They just want to accept what they've seen over and over again."
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/06/28/medal-of-honor-recipients-story-finally-comes-to-light/29424149/
Heroes
Medal of Honor
Military History
WWI
Edited 9 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
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To be honest it does not surprise me that "we" get so much of our history wrong GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad . Proper handling and safekeeping Battlefield notes is a legitimate concern. Historical revisionism has been going on for some time. Hopefully truth will prevail and people will be zealous once again to find substantiation for things reported as fact.
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MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P
Agreed, sir. Especially the part about "historical revisionism". I often wonder how much of the "history" we are/were taught in school has been altered to fit the perceptions of the authors.
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That's EXACTLY why I am so adamantly in favor of rescinding the twenty CMOH medals for those murderous Cavalry bastards at Wounded Knee. Everyone who disagreed with me all replied "What difference would it make after so many years?" Sgt. Henry Johnson is a perfect example in reverse. The difference is that it rights a wrong!!!
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Schumer: Bring WWI hero's Medal of Honor to his N.Y. hometown ...
The Medal of Honor posthumously awarded last month to a World War I soldier from Albany should be put on public display in his hometown, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Thursday.
The New York Democrat sent a letter to the New York National Guard asking it to bring Sgt. Henry Johnson's medal to New York's capital once it's handed over by the U.S. Army. Schumer is seeking to have the medal temporarily displayed in City Hall.
"We have had dozens of Capital Region citizens call and ask if the medal could visit Henry Johnson's hometown," said Schumer, who was involved in the decades-long effort to bestow the nation's highest military award on Johnson.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/07/16/schumer-bring-wwi-heros-medal-of-honor-to-his-ny-hometown/30269385/
The Medal of Honor posthumously awarded last month to a World War I soldier from Albany should be put on public display in his hometown, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Thursday.
The New York Democrat sent a letter to the New York National Guard asking it to bring Sgt. Henry Johnson's medal to New York's capital once it's handed over by the U.S. Army. Schumer is seeking to have the medal temporarily displayed in City Hall.
"We have had dozens of Capital Region citizens call and ask if the medal could visit Henry Johnson's hometown," said Schumer, who was involved in the decades-long effort to bestow the nation's highest military award on Johnson.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/07/16/schumer-bring-wwi-heros-medal-of-honor-to-his-ny-hometown/30269385/
Schumer: Bring WWI hero's Medal of Honor to his N.Y. hometown
The Medal of Honor posthumously awarded last month to a World War I soldier from Albany should be put on public display in his hometown, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Thursday.
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