Some accounts describe Johnson as having received France’s “highest award” — a characterization that is accurate if it refers to the highest level of the Croix de Guerre, but inaccurate if it implies the Legion of Honor. The historical accounts that describe his Croix de Guerre avec Palme as the highest form of a combat valor award are correct; accounts that imply he received the Legion of Honor are not supported by the documented record.
## Needham Roberts: The Other Man at Outpost 20
Needham Roberts was 17 years old on the night of May 15, 1918. He was from Trenton, New Jersey. He had enlisted in the 369th Infantry at an age that made him one of the younger soldiers in the regiment.
Roberts was wounded early in the engagement at Outpost 20, hit by gunfire that left him unable to stand. The accounts of the action describe him continuing to function despite his wounds: passing grenades to Johnson, alerting him to threats, calling out warnings as the German raiding party pressed in on the position.
He received the Croix de Guerre at the same time as Johnson, recognizing his role in the defense of the outpost. His specific contribution — keeping Johnson supplied with grenades, maintaining communication, refusing to be taken despite his wounds — was an essential part of the defensive stand. The action at Outpost 20 was not a solo performance; it was a two-man stand in which both men functioned under extraordinary pressure.
Roberts survived the war. His post-war life is less fully documented in the historical accounts than Johnson’s, partly because his story was overshadowed by Johnson’s more dramatic individual combat and by the specific tragedies of Johnson’s post-war life. The historical record of the 369th’s experience notes Roberts’s award and his role at Outpost 20 without detailing his subsequent biography in the depth that Johnson’s has been researched.