ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Sgt. William Henry Johnson was a Black World War I veteran from Albany, part of the famed Harlem Hellfighters, who single-handedly fought off German soldiers to save other American troops. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in 2015 almost 100 years after serving.
“He deserved the Medal of Honor. He didn’t get it because he was a Black man in World War I but we finally got him the Medal of Honor that he earned on the battlefield. So now to turn back the clock and reverse all of this is just despicable,” stated Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader of the United States Senate.
Louisiana’s Fort Polk, named after Leonidas Polk, was renamed to Fort Johnson in 2023 as part of a Congressional mandate to update military bases that honored Confederate figures. President Donald Trump wants to bring back the Louisiana Army base’s original name.
“Let’s remember they lost the war. That this was a reckoning that was hundreds of years in the making and to undo that by the foolishness that we’ve seen with our Department of Defense, the United States Department of Defense, is shameful,” explained Mayor Kathy Sheehan.
Albany’s mayor told NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski she can’t think of any reason why the Sgt. Henry Johnson would have his name stripped from the fort other than because of the color of his skin. “It is an attempt to undo decades of the blood, sweat and tears of people who fought in the civil rights movement. And this is about recognizing those who were not recognized, who were meritorious.”
New York’s capital city celebrates Henry Johnson Day on June 5th and gives the Henry Johnson Award at its jazz festival every year. Other local groups and places are named after Sgt. Henry Johnson, including a JROTC battalion and charter school.
Mayor Sheehan said it’s important for government to remember and honor people like Sgt. Henry Johnson. “We see them. We see what is happening. We see what they are doing and I am not going to stand by in silence. And so, I have asked the Department of Defense to reconsider this decision.”
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