ALBANY – The newest honor proposed for Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Henry Johnson would place his likeness on a U.S. postage stamp to salute his bravery fighting in World War I.
Capital Region veterans and politicians pushed for nearly a century to have Johnson’s valor honored with the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Medal of Honor and on June 13, the renaming of Fort Polk as Fort Johnson in Louisiana after his service was ignored due to systemic racism.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, who helped wage the successful campaign to see the Medal of Honor awarded to Johnson, is now urging the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee to select Johnson for a U.S. postage stamp.
“Sgt. Henry Johnson, Albany resident and Harlem Hellfighter, is a true American hero, who displayed the most profound battlefield bravery in World War I, yet for almost a century the nation for which he was willing to give his life shamefully failed to recognize his heroics, just because he was a Black man. Now, on the 105th anniversary of the ‘Battle of Henry Johnson,’ we have another incredible opportunity to preserve the story of this true American hero for generations to come by creating a Henry Johnson stamp,” Schumer said in announcing the drive to get Johnson on a stamp.
“The creation of a U.S. postage stamp to honor Sgt. Johnson is just one more important step in rectifying a century-old injustice to turn away from a sad chapter in American history and continue to give the recognition to Sgt. Johnson, and the countless other African Americans who courageously fought – and died – for a nation that failed to treat them with full equality before the law,” Schumer continued.
Johnson served in Company C of the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment, formerly the 15th New York National Guard, in the 93rd Infantry Division during World War I. The unit was assigned…
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