On watch in the Argonne Forest on May 14, 1918, he fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing multiple German soldiers and rescuing a fellow soldier while suffering 21 wounds, in an action that was brought to the nation’s attention by coverage in the New York World and The Saturday Evening Post later that year.

In 1918, the French awarded Johnson with a Croix de guerre with star and bronze palm. He was the first U.S. soldier in World War I to receive that honor.

On June 2, 2015, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a posthumous ceremony at the White House.

Veterans Bureau records show that a “permanent and total disability” rating was granted to Johnson on September 16, 1927, as a result of his tuberculosis infection. Additional Veterans Bureau records refer to Johnson receiving monthly compensation and regular visits by Veterans Bureau medical personnel until his death.

Johnson died on July 1, 1929, in Washington, D.C., of myocarditis. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on July 6, 1929.

From Henry Johnson (World War I soldier) on Wikipedia