Soldier who Defeated 32 Germans WITHOUT Bullets - Harlem Hell-fighters WW1
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 Private Henry Johnson, a Harlem Hellfighter.
00:03 On April 8th, 1918, the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment
00:09 fought on the French front lines, remaining there for 191 days,
00:13 longer than any other American unit across the whole of World War I.
00:17 They were given the nickname "the Harlem Hellfighters" by enemy German soldiers,
00:22 with one prisoner having said his German friends were more hesitant to attack
00:26 "colored U.S. troops," one of those Hellfighters was Private William Henry Johnson,
00:31 known just as Henry Johnson.
00:33 Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Johnson had a variety of jobs before enlisting,
00:39 including chauffeur, soda mixer, and laborer.
00:42 He enlisted in the U.S. Army in June of 1917 at approximately 25 years old.
00:48 His actions during the war would lead him to becoming one of the most famous
00:52 of all World War I African-American soldiers.
00:55 The story of his heroism is better known today, but for all his bravery,
00:59 Henry Johnson did not receive the recognition he should have.
01:03 This is his story.
01:05 In 1914, when World War I started, racial laws and tensions were still very much prominent
01:12 in American society.
01:14 Black people, or African-Americans, were marginalized, segregated,
01:18 and treated like second-class citizens across society.
01:21 However, they were deemed "good enough" to die for America,
01:25 and African-Americans themselves jumped at the chance to prove their worth,
01:29 believing it would lead to an overall reduction in racial bias in American society.
01:34 Thus, in 1916, Johnson joined the all-black 15th New York Infantry
01:39 and formally began training at Lafayette Hall.
01:41 A year later, when America entered the Great War,
01:44 the unit was the first in New York to be recruited to full strength
01:47 due to an outpouring of African-American volunteers.
01:51 But white Americans still were unwilling to fight alongside their African-American counterparts.
01:56 Because of this, the American Expeditionary Forces commander, General John J. Pershing,
02:01 instead assigned Johnson in the 15th New York away from American troops.
02:06 In November 1917, Johnson's unit was sent to France,
02:10 where they were expected to help serve the French Army's 16th Division.
02:14 The French lacked the racial segregation and bias that was prevalent in American society,
02:19 and although there were still racial issues in Europe,
02:22 they happily welcomed the infantry with the title of the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment,
02:28 and fought alongside them without the same prejudice.
02:31 On May 15th of 1918, Henry Johnson was guarding a sentry post from midnight to 4 a.m.,
02:38 alongside fellow soldier Needham Roberts.
02:40 Johnson, already convinced that the German snipers
02:44 who had been shooting at them earlier were still around,
02:46 told his sergeant they should send better men who knew their rifles to guard the outpost.
02:51 His request was laughed off, but Johnson was soon proven right.
02:56 At around 1 a.m., a sniper fired from the darkness, missing the men.
03:00 When reported to Sergeant Roy Thompson,
03:02 all Johnson got in response was a laugh and the comment, "You scared?"
03:07 Johnson, being brave beyond his years, told his sergeant he didn't fear the snipers,
03:13 only wanted to warn him of their presence and the potential for an attack.
03:17 Despite being ignored, Henry Johnson spent the hour laying out precautions
03:22 that later that night saved his life.
03:24 Taking a box of approximately 30 grenades, he began laying them out in lines,
03:29 ensuring easy access should he need them.
03:32 And he definitely did need them.
03:34 Less than an hour later, at what Johnson estimates as 2 a.m.,
03:39 he heard the telltale sound of wires being cut and immediately knew a German attack was imminent.
03:44 Straight away, he tells his comrade Needham to run and tell the lieutenant
03:48 before throwing his first grenade at where he thought the German soldiers were about to attack from.
03:53 Somewhere in the confusion, Needham was badly wounded in the hip and arm by a German grenade.
03:59 Henry told his companion to "keep his nerve"
04:01 before instructing him to lie in the trench and hand Johnson grenades
04:05 so that he could keep the German soldiers at bay.
04:07 From his position, Johnson continued to lob grenades at the emerging German soldiers,
04:12 taking plenty of hits in return.
04:14 As he fought, he was shot at the whole time,
04:17 taking hits in the head, lip, hand, side, and at some point,
04:21 smashing his foot so badly that after the war was over,
04:24 he required a silver plate to help fix it.
04:27 But bullets, injuries, and an unknown number of enemy soldiers
04:31 wasn't enough to stop Johnson.
04:33 Surrounded by soldiers, Johnson kept throwing grenades
04:36 until eventually he had none left.
04:38 Undeterred, he immediately began shooting his rifle instead,
04:42 which worked for a while until Johnson tried to put an American cartridge clip
04:46 in his French-assigned rifle, causing it to jam.
04:49 It's at this point that most people would think they were done for,
04:52 but there was a fighting spirit in Johnson, determined to live.
04:56 Swinging with wild abandon, he began using his rifle as a club instead,
05:02 jumping into the fray and hitting German soldiers wherever he could reach
05:05 as they helplessly tried to rush the one-man machine.
05:08 Not content with his club, Johnson then reached for his bolo knife
05:13 and started slashing through the air, later saying,
05:16 "Each slash meant something, believe me."
05:19 The remarkably modest Johnson later reported,
05:23 "There wasn't much to it, but it's unlikely many people
05:26 could hold off a whole swarm of German soldiers the way he managed."
05:31 He was still fighting an hour later when help arrived,
05:35 beating the German soldiers back.
05:37 The next morning, the true extent of what Johnson had done was revealed.
05:42 The American regiment found four dead German soldiers
05:45 and evidence of somewhere between 12 and 32 more injured or dead.
05:50 There were 38 bombs found among dropped bayonets, rifles and revolvers.
05:55 "Just fought for my life, a rabbit would have done that,"
05:58 was all the modest Johnson said on the whole attack later.
06:03 But the Germans, on the other hand, would have been forgiven
06:05 for thinking they were fighting a regiment,
06:07 not just one incredibly brave man who was determined not to die.
06:11 It didn't take long for stories of the incredible exploits
06:15 of Needham and Johnson to make it home to America,
06:18 earning Johnson the nickname "The Black Death."
06:21 In France, Johnson became the recipient
06:24 of the country's military's highest award, the Quadruguere.
06:27 He was the first American to do so.
06:30 Tragically, America itself was not so kind.
06:33 Despite what Johnson had done and the way the papers lauded him,
06:37 he didn't receive the recognition he deserved.
06:39 When news of his exploits were reported back home in the States,
06:43 it was by white journalists who in the same breath as calling him and Needham
06:47 "first-class American heroes,"
06:49 would also refer to African people as "savages" or "demoniac."
06:54 Famously, the Battle of Henry Johnson, as it was called,
06:57 was first reported by Irvin S. Cobb of the Sunday Evening Post,
07:00 who praised Johnson all while filing his report
07:03 with racial stereotypes of African Americans.
07:06 The black American press, however,
07:08 immediately lifted up and exalted its two heroes of the war.
07:11 Their papers recognized Johnson and Needham as symbols of racial bravery,
07:16 manhood, and sacrifice, positioning them as men of extreme valor.
07:20 On July 5th, the New York 15th Women's Auxiliary
07:25 honored Henry Johnson's wife and the parents of Needham Roberts,
07:28 organizing a ceremony at Harlem Casino that over 2,000 people attended.
07:32 Praise for their actions was bestowed by President Wilson,
07:36 the governors of New York and New Jersey, and the Secretary of War.
07:40 For one glorious moment, African Americans thought this could be
07:43 the turning point of racial relations in the U.S.
07:46 But it was not to be.
07:48 By the end of the war, a mere few months later,
07:52 anti-African American sentiment was at an all-time high.
07:55 Johnson returned home a severely wounded, disabled soldier.
08:00 He seemingly received no acknowledgment for his acts of bravery and self-sacrifice,
08:05 and was discharged from the military due to his extensive injuries.
08:08 Although it's unclear whether or not he received a disability pension,
08:13 it's unquestionable his time in the war affected him.
08:16 Unable to hold down a job due to his injuries, he soon turned to drink.
08:21 Not long later, his wife left him, taking their three sons with her.
08:25 And tragically, Johnson died not long later in 1929 from myocarditis,
08:31 a result of his injuries during the war.
08:33 During his lifetime, America failed to acknowledge his actions due to the color of his skin,
08:39 and it took decades for them to hold themselves accountable
08:42 and posthumously rewarded Johnson for his actions.
08:45 In 1996, the now deceased Johnson received the Purple Heart,
08:49 the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002, and the Medal of Honor in 2015.
08:54 Though an attempt to right the wrongs of history is always welcome,
08:59 to this day Johnson remains a relative unknown instead of the household name he should be.
09:05 All because he was a black man in a racially prejudiced America.
09:10 (explosion)