RANK: CORPORAL YEARS OF SERVICE: 1915-19 MILITARY HONOURS RECEIVED: CROIX DE GUERRE (FRANCE)
Born to poor parents in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Johnson moved north to Albany, New York, as a teenager. Before enlisting he worked as a chauffeur, a labourer in a coal yard and a railway porter. At one point in the fighting on the night of 14-15 May 1918, Johnson, having run out of ammunition, threw one of his German assailants over his shoulder, who then stabbed him in the ribs. Johnson had multiple wounds, mostly from knives and bayonets, in his back, face, left arm, and left foot, which was so badly damaged that doctors inserted a steel plate in it. Johnson remained modest about his heroism. “There wasn’t anything so fine about it,” he said, “just…
