Army renames Louisiana base for Black WWI hero who acquired Medal of Honor

FORT JOHNSON, La. (AP) – A U.S. Army base in western Louisiana was renamed Tuesday to honor Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black hero of World War I who acquired the Medal of Honor practically a century later.

Fort Johnson had beforehand been named after a Confederate commander, Leonidas Polk. The renaming is a part of the U.S. army’s efforts to deal with historic racial injustice – work that included altering the names of 9 Army posts that commemorated Confederate officers.

“Sgt. William Henry Johnson embodied the warrior spirit, and we are deeply honored to bear his name,” Brig. Gen. David Garner, the commanding normal of the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, mentioned in a submit on Twitter.

While serving on the entrance traces of France in 1918, Johnson fought off a German evening raid close to the Argonne Forest, in line with the National Museum of the United States Army.

Johnson was wounded 21 occasions whereas beating again the attacking forces. He additionally prevented a wounded Black comrade from being taken prisoner when, after working out of grenades and ammunition, he killed two German troopers together with his knife.

“His frantic attacks broke the German morale and the enemy raiding party retreated,” the Army museum’s biography of Johnson says.

He survived the conflict, and former President Theodore Roosevelt named him one of many 5 bravest Americans to serve within the battle. He insisted he was no hero, and the Army biography quotes him as saying, “There wasn’t anything so fine about it. Just fought for my life. A rabbit would have done that.”

His courageous actions had been acknowledged practically a century later when he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2015 “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

However, Johnson’s actions weren’t acknowledged by the Army, which denied him a incapacity allowance and didn’t award him a Purple Heart. Due to his accidents, he struggled after returning residence to Albany, New York, and died of a coronary heart situation in 1929. He was 32 years outdated.

The present means of renaming 9 Army posts marks the primary time bases can be named after Black troopers and girls.

Earlier this month, Fort Bragg in North Carolina grew to become Fort Liberty, and Fort Benning in Georgia was renamed Fort Moore final month.