And on the night of May 15, 1918, Pvt. Henry Johnson, a member of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment, found himself fighting for his life against 20 German Soldiers out in front of his unit's trenchline.
By the time what a reporter called "The Battle of Henry Johnson" was over, Johnson had been wounded 21 times and become the first American hero of World War I.
Johnson's actions during the night of May 15, 1918 brought attention to the African American Doughboys of the unit, the New York National Guard's former 15th Infantry, redesignated the 369th for wartime service.
Henry Johnson, 26, from Albany, N.Y., and his buddy Needham Roberts, 17, of Trenton N.J., from the regiment's 1st Battalion, Company C, stood watch near a bridge over the Aisne River at Bois d'Hauzy during the night of May 15.
Even after suffering 21 wounds in hand-to-hand combat, Henry Johnson had stopped the Germans from approaching the French line or capturing his fellow Soldier.
Wielding only a knife and gravely wounded himself, Private Johnson continued fighting and took his bolo knife and stabbed it through an enemy soldier's head.
