Pentagon Considers Medal Of Honor For Henry Johnson

An Army sergeant who singlehandedly fought off roughly two dozen German soldiers and saved a comrade during World War I nearly 100 years ago is being considered for the Medal of Honor by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, The Associated Press reports.

If Hagel — and the president — signs off on the award recommendation for Sgt. Henry Johnson, a soldier who served in the segregated 369th Infantry Regiment “Harlem Hellfighters” in 1918, he would be just the second African-American soldier serving in World War I to receive the nation’s highest award for heroism.

New York Daily News has more:

Johnson is credited with single-handedly fighting off a nighttime raid by more than 20 Germans in May 1918, and saving a colleague, Needham Roberts, from capture.

Wounded, the five-foot-four Johnson used his rifle and knife to kill and wound several Germans trying to carry off Roberts, according to contemporary accounts. The rest of the Germans retreated.

Johnson’s heroism was well-known, but largely ignored by military officials in an era of Jim Crow laws. He received the French Croix de Guerre at the time, and years later was posthumously awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service Cross, according to AP.

“Everybody knew who Henry Johnson was,” Jack McEneny, a historian and retired state lawmaker in Albany, N.Y. who has advocated Johnson’s case for 40 years, told AP. “He was a major source of pride and a realization for the black community and the white community of the value of African-Americans to the loyalty of this country.”

As it stands now, Cpl. Freddie Stowers is the only African-American recipient of the Medal of Honor for World War I. His award came 73 years after he died rallying his men to attack an enemy trench line, according to the U.S. Army.

But Johnson’s application has picked up steam after being pushed by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), whose staff found Army documents relating his heroics from May 1918.

“It’s been a long process but we’re finally at the goal-line,” Schumer told the Daily News. “We’re close to righting a wrong that was done 100 years ago.”

SGT. HENRY JOHNSON – AMERICAN HERO of WORLD WAR I – AN INSPIRATION TO OUR FIGHTING MEN TODAY – NARA – 535680 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

via Pentagon Considers Medal Of Honor For Henry Johnson – Business Insider.

Medal of Honor created: 1862

#Metal of Honor

President Abraham Lincoln signs into law a measure calling for the awarding of a U.S. Army Medal of Honor, in the name of Congress, “to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection.” The previous December, Lincoln had approved a provision creating a U.S. Navy Medal of Valor, which was the basis of the Army Medal of Honor created by Congress in July 1862. The first U.S. Army soldiers to receive what would become the nation’s highest military honor were six members of a Union raiding party who in 1862 penetrated deep into Confederate territory to destroy bridges and railroad tracks between Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia.

English: John Cook, bugler in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1863, the Medal of Honor was made a permanent military decoration available to all members, including commissioned officers, of the U.S. military. It is conferred upon those who have distinguished themselves in actual combat at risk of life beyond the call of duty. Since its creation, during the Civil War, more than 3,400 men and one woman have received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions in U.S. military conflict.

Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us!

 via Medal of Honor created — History.com This Day in History — 7/12/1862.

It’s Marine Monday!

National Museum of the Marine Corps

#Marine   #USMC

Today we highlight Marine Medal of Honor recipient, Sergeant Grant F. Timmerman.

Timmerman landed on Saipan with 2d Tank Battalion of the 2d Marine Division on D-Day, 15 June 1944, and on 28 June sustained a slight shrapnel wound in the right forearm.

Ryan Pitts on Medal of Honor: This belongs to my fallen comrades

By Rik Stevens 

The Associated Press

Published: June 26, 2014

CONCORD, N.H. — Ryan Pitts will wear the nation’s highest award for combat valor, but the humble and soft-spoken Medal of Honor recipient who continued to fight after being wounded in one of Afghanistan’s bloodiest battles insisted Thursday that the medal belongs to all of his comrades who fought and died that day.

The Next Medal Of Honor Recipient Crawled Through Rocket Fire During One Of Afghanistan’s Deadliest Battles

A former Army staff sergeant will receive the Medal of Honor on July 21 for his heroics during one of the deadliest battles of the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan. 

Staff Sergeant Ryan Pitts spent an agonizing 90 minutes fighting off an enemy force of more than 200 fighters that was trying to overrun the Observation Post (OP) Topside and Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler in Wanat, Afghanistan, the Army Times reports.

Late Medal of Honor recipient Rudy Hernandez immortalized in museum exhibit

By Drew Brooks Military editor | Updated Yesterday

When Rudy Hernandez described how he earned the Medal of Honor, he often struck the pose of a man pushing forward through daunting odds, thrusting a bayonet into the enemy.

Hernandez, who received the nation’s highest military honor while fighting as an Army corporal in the Korean War, died late last year. But the pose will live on.

Here’s How You’re Told By The President You’ve Been Awarded The Nation’s Highest Award For Bravery

Being awarded the Medal of Honor is a rare occasion these days. The nation’s highest military award for bravery has been conferred just 15 times after more than a decade of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many recipients lose their lives in the act that the award recognizes. But some, like Marine Cpl. Kyle Carpenter — who will receive the medal on June 19 — survive and learn from the president that they are being given the highest possible recognition for their courage.

War and Peace: Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt is the only person to have ever received both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Congressional Medal of Honor, the two highest nationally recognized honors for war and peace.

 

Note: Because the medal is presented in the name of Congress it’s often erroneously referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor; the official name is simply the “Medal of Honor.” Source

5 Heroes Among Us: Living Medal Of Honor Recipients

As of 23 May, 2014 we have 5 living Medal of Honor Recipients, Kyle Carpenter will be the 6th. He will be honored on 19 June, 2014. Click on their name to read their story.

Clinton Romesha

Dakota Meyer

Leroy Petry

Salvatore Giunta

Ty Carter

Reverse of a Medal of Honor awarded to Seaman John Ortega, USN, who served twice with landing parties from USS Saratoga during the Union blockade in August and September of 1864. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Related articles

• 2 Medal of Honor recipients from Civil War honored at Wood cemetery

Soldier Earns Medal Of Honor Using Video Game Skills

WASHINGTON — A soldier who used skills he learned playing video games to distinguish himself during the 2011 Battle of Waygal was awarded the Medal of Honor on Monday in a ceremony at The White House.

Bestowing the nation’s highest honor on Sgt. Trenton “Boz” Bosseletti, President Obama spoke of the then-specialist’s incredible heroics that helped beat back a fierce Taliban assault on his forward operating base.

10 Tin Soldiers

Via: Biography.com

 1941, Vernon Baker was assigned to the segregated 270th Regiment of the 92nd Infantry Division, the first black unit to go into combat in WWII. Baker, one of the most decorated black soldiers in the Mediterranean Theater, earned a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Distinguished Service Cross. In 1996, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Military personnel, Medal of Honor recipient. Born December 17, 1919. Vernon J. Baker was orphaned at age four and raised by his grandparents in Cheyenne, Wyoming – a town that had just a dozen other black families. During his adolescence, he spent two years at Father Flanagan’s Boys Home in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from high school in Iowa, and began work as a railroad porter.

In the summer of 1941, Baker had finally grown tired of his life on the railroad, and enlisted in the Army that June. He was assigned to the segregated 270th Regiment of the 92nd Infantry Division, the first black unit to go into combat in World War II. After completing officer candidate school, he was commissioned on January 11th, 1943.

World War I Ace Eddie Rickenbacker

.

.

On September 25, 1918, leading American World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker attacked seven enemy airplanes alone and shot down two of them. He received the Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy.” This uniform jacket was worn by Rickenbacker during World War I.

.

.

Related articles

• Aircraft museum revisits flying days of WWI combat pilots (stripes.com)
• Time is Short (barrywax.wordpress.com)

Patriot Profiles–Highest Honor

.

.

Click on the image above or here to watch our military, law enforcement, and first responders in action. Many videos to choose from!  This first profile, Highest Honor is Dakota Meyers story and the battle of Ganjgal. Watch what  earned  him The Medal of Honor.  🙂

.