**History.com, “WWI Hero Henry Johnson Finally Receives Medal of Honor”** (history.com) — Campaign timeline; Herman Johnson son advocacy (died 2004); Schumer involvement; June 2015 ceremony; Command Sgt. Maj. Louis Wilson accepting medal; Pershing document discovery.
**Britannica, “Harlem Hellfighters: Discrimination at Home and Fame Abroad”** (britannica.com) — Formation as 15th NY National Guard; Camp Wadsworth harassment; Sissle incident; AEF labor assignment; March 1918 French 16th Division attachment; 191 days combat; Second Battle of the Marne; 161st Division reassignment; Séchault September 29, 1918; regiment Croix de Guerre; Hayward and the Rhine.
**Military.com, “How the Story of This Medal of Honor Recipient Wounded 21 Times Was Almost Lost to History”** (military.com) — 5’4” 130 lbs; Argonne sentry duty; wire cutters 2 a.m.; grenade; rifle jammed; bolo knife; four Germans killed; “Black Death” nickname; discharge without wound record; penniless death 1929.
**Factual guardrails applied:** Birth year discrepancy noted (NPS: 1892; BlackPast: 1897). Enemy count attributed to citation (“at least 12”) with variants noted. Croix de Guerre avec Palme distinguished from Legion of Honor. Roberts’s role credited throughout. Rank during action noted with source variance (private vs. sergeant). Father-son relationship Herman/Henry Johnson attributed rather than assumed. Death circumstances attributed to post-war accounts. No unverified cause-of-death claims. No verified current fort-name claim beyond June 2023 renaming to Fort Johnson. “Highest award” characterization qualified. 97 years between action (1918) and award (2015), not 97 years after death.
## The Segregated Army of 1917
To fully understand what Henry Johnson encountered when he enlisted in June 1917, it helps to understand the specific structure of racial segregation in the American military at that moment.