Soldier who Defeated 32 Germans WITHOUT Bullets - Harlem Hell-fighters WW1
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- čas přidán 25. 05. 2023
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Credit:
Show Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Script: Natasha Martell
Narrator:
Chris Kane
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:)
@@Simplehistory OK
:D
And thanks in huge part to him, nearly all of our food supply has kosher marks on it.
Thank you for bringing their story to light. Doubt it will happen, but would love if a movie about this way made.
When your enemy respects and commends you more than your own country does...
I know, it's disgusting behaviour.
Look up the covert memo "Secret Information Regarding Colored Troops" that US military command sent out to places in Europe where its own black troops were drployed
Ouch, but true.
Yeah, sadly.
Oh hey, it's Adrian Shephard from HECU!
Only because the French thought American blacks were civilized while viewing their own black colonial troops as savages
He should get his own movie
You would have DeSantis crying about it being woke
If they make a movie about this hero they'd call it "woke" and "racist"
@@northamericanintercontinen3207 Shut up. It would specifically be made BECAUSE he was black, not because they care about the heroisms of real men, and what they stood for. You’re apart of the problem if you won’t stand up to the blatant ideologies running the world now.
@@northamericanintercontinen3207 leftard
@@IceAxe1940 nope
How they got his balls into a coffin is just as impressive. Rest in peace American warrior.
Brilliant...Must have had some strong pall bearers to carry a casket loaded with one man and 2 tons of pure testicles!!! 😂😂😂😂😂
And he came home and got mistreated smh didn't get a house like the wyte soldiers got and they don't even want to teach our history in some states. Shame on him for helping America
How he put his pants on is the big question.
Jaykee the Wolf: Christ!! the mental image is priceless!!!
Luis: was that a blue coffin??
😂
My great grandfather was one of these guys. When he passed away in the early 1970s he was buried with his “doughboy” helmet and his French combat medals. One of the toughest men I EVER met…!
Thanks for this recognition. He'd have liked my dad, who landed on Okinawa.
Your grandfather makes me proud to be a black man. ✊🏿 Thank him for his service.
Oh really? Prove it. My neighbor's great grandaddy was there and he said he saw your greasy great grandaddy hiding in an out-house like a little girl. Stop lying.
@@tonybarnes3858 70% of black Americans are raised in a single parent home
@@khunt1947 are you also proud of the fact that blacks are 13% of the United States population but responsible for 60% of all violent crime and 51% of all murders.
Henry Johnson Summed up as a man :
" A hero to America, a hero to France, a man who died too young, almost a hundered years since passing we now honor him, may his name forever live on."
he was no hero to America, he risked his life in Europe in a white mans war and died just another n****r in his homeland.
@@Fresh-uc9vb What does that make you? Some schlub on the internet who'll die with nobody but his family to mourn him? Who will eventually be forgotten and have no statues dedicated to him. Who will have no records of any deeds he committed? This wasn't a "White Man's War", it was a World War.
He wasn't a hero to America: they shamed him and continued racist rants despite the fact he fought for them. He should have moved to France where they weren't bigots.
@@alm5992 To be fair, he's a hero to modern America. We've changed since our days during Woodrow Wilson.
@@ttpbroadcastingcompany.4460 Have we? Yes we have, but we still gotta do better as a society. This is one of the things some politicians don't want to be taught in some American schools.
It’s good to see Henry Johnson finally get the medal of honour after 97 years of campaigning for his bravery action and his story should be made a Hollywood movie.
Hollywood would ruin a movie made about him.
@@jacobcoleman I was thinking the same exact thing. Hollywood would royally screw up a movie about him, his story better off staying off of the screen
Anyone except Hollywood
Wanna know something ironic in all this (people with autism ARNT allowed to serve in the US Military and are Very Much Treated like African Americans in this Time Period and I’ll tell you this IM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT
@@Slenderslayer351 such a stupid comment 😂
He was a household name in our house. My kids knew who he was. Henry Johnson Blvd. in Albany NY is named for him. He absolutely should have received the Medal of Honor during his life, and a full military disability pension. He refused to give up because he was fighting for the man he was with, and the others behind him. He refused to be beaten, and so he wasn’t.
HE DID NOT GET PENSION STOP LYING
@@lastzulu180 I didn’t say he got a pension. I said he absolutely should have.
@@lastzulu180 Read it again....
@@tuvoca825 he die poor in a one bed rom apartment
Thank you for not sugar coating the racial aspect of Henry Johnson’s story. So important for ppl to understand how poorly he was treated by his own country.
In my opinion, He got respect from his enemy more than his own country.😢
He got respect from the his enemies and allies but not his country who were just be git wanks
I don't think so
@@ketzpath1435 I do.
And his unloyal wife
Word!
To the people working on simple history, you all deserve praise for your hard work. Your videos are getting better. Past, present and future, the fighting spirit will die. Henry Johnson is the perfect example of said spirit.
I'm very sorry. I forgot to say "never" in my comments. It was an honest mistake. The fighting spirit will never, ever die.
@@tyroneswartz8413 its ok
@@tyroneswartz8413 that's what the edit button is for
His unit got its homage in Battlefield 1, featuring the "Harlem Hellfighters" weapons kit and the codex entry with their history
Facts i played this mission everybody dies it was ODeeeeee
They didn't get a full mission. That was just a tutorial 😢
Lol i remember when that came out and people complained there was black people in a ww1 game
@@johnramos8703because this story isn’t true Lmao it’s made up
@@ChampChamp2024he has a grave
You'd be surprised how much of history sounds like it should've been fiction yet no
Audie Murphy is an example
This man saved a whole US army regiment & the french soldiers from being slaughtered by the Germans and the USA still treated this man in a dishonorable manner.
Crazy anit it.
Sad that one of our country's greatest heroes wasn't recognized for his valor at the time. But at least he FINALLY got the recognition he so justly deserved.
When it’s time to rename Army Bases they should consider Fort Henry Johnson as a top choice
"Trust the americans to do the right thing, after they exhausted every other option"
Now the former Fort Polk, Louisiana is named after him👊🏽🫡
Henry Johnson, a tragic American hero.
Simple History does a great job emphasizing such stories for all to learn and know.
Watch play game Battlefield 1
He ain't no American hero, he's a an African American hero
@@samuelademeso9041 So an American hero.
He was born in America, raised in America; was an American.
@@chrisidoo he's more American than some Americans
@@samuelademeso9041 This is the same jealousy and hatred the narrator is talking about. When wyte person leaves Europe to America, he or she becomes an American but a black person whose grt grand parents where there b4 even your so called Columbus is called African American. Wyte people have the habit of claiming what is not theirs look even Donald Trump's family came from Germany but today he is more American than the black people his parents met in America what a shame.
He should be just as known as Audie Murphy, who was given so many awards for his courage. Johnson deserved a lot of recognition too, because Johnson was fighting two major wars at the same time, but fought like a madman who loved his country! Omitting our contributions goes way back!🥺
As a Marine veteran... I shall remember his name and tell future kids about him.
You achieve immortality when a battle you fought in is named for you, rather than merely where you fought it.
RIP,, Sergeant Johnson (Salute)
He knew what the ladies liked.
"It may be tough but it aint invincible..
*Takes cigar*
Now go with the master chief he knows what to do"
Henry Johnson is literally WW1's John Henry.
Fr 😂😂😂
Yea because both are more fiction than reality
@@efreemantle3619 wtf henry johnson is real do you have alzheimers or something
@@efreemantle3619 Lol just say you don't want to give credit for an obvious reason.
@@efreemantle3619 this guy's missed out on yet another opportunity to be a good person, will he get another? or even ask himself to wake up after reading this?
This story doesn’t even makes sense, how is such a thing possible? Incredible 🙌🏼
It’s propaganda
@@abdulhamid_han_ii6825 😂🤣
@@sageex3931 It is propaganda for BLM, black history month etc. Nothing to see here,
@@no-knickers-emma1112 COPE
@@abdulhamid_han_ii6825nah
Happy to report that the US Army installation in Vernon Parish, Louisiana formerly known as Fort Polk has been officially renamed Fort Johnson, in honor of William Henry Johnson, as of June 13th, 2023.
It's more than a pity that he never received the respect he deserved in life. He was truly an American hero... may he Rest In Peace.
Definitely a pity but our community has been going through this sort of thing since the revolutionary war.
@@namelastname-qg6qw dying from malaria is for the pale
@@seanmikaeel90s50 Should of fought for us instead
From a land across the ocean
To the western front, where they served
Fought with courage and devotion
Preconceptions turned!
As the spring offensive kept churning
Where the men would earn their name
See the tides of battle turning
And their foes ignite their flame!
Huzzah a man of culture
Brothers unite!
@@CJDunehew1 Hear the toll of the bell!
1914 did a better song about him.
THIS is the kind of history we need taught in schools.
“Fought for my life, a rabbit woulda done that.”
There is a great graphic novel called “The Harlem Hellfighters” that cover the Hellfighters and Johnson very well.
Really enjoyed reading that novel myself. Prior to my picking it up, this was one story about World War 1 that I was not aware of.
Written by Max Brooks, the author of "WWZ" both are incredible pieces of work
It is fictionalized account, though.
@@thegeneralvilla2784
fictionalized (and inaccurate) literature to take with a grain of salt
@@ir8free Its still fucking great, i dont care if its not 100 accurate
This is the type of series I live for actually educating people on real heroes and not just false narratives from the past
Thank you very much for posting this!
Imagine fighting for a country (and a system) that despises you and treats you as a lower class person. I find it hard to conceive...
Same
Because modern men are weak and don't want to put effort into a cause that isn't guaranteed to immediately pay off in their interest.
They still do, I enlisted a few years after 9/11 as soon as I graduated high school.
I was in middle school when 9/11 happened and we had recruiters promising you the world.
In particular to those who didn't have papers, so kids who had brought to this country illegally enlisted with the promise of gaining citizenship.
Tons of vets were deported instead, from what I was told there was a backlog in their paperwork and so by the time their time was up they would be deported and if not then they would be deported after minor infractions such as speeding tickets and such
One of my friends from school also enlisted a year after I did, he did two contracts and deployed three times. He didn't get his greencard until a year after having had served and his citizenship two years after that. So it took him about 10ish years to do this
@@Firstname137 it’s not even remotely the same. Black Americans we’re getting lynched in their uniforms.
Look up the memo "Secret Information Regarding Colored Troops" that the US military high command sent out about its own black troops 😮
the animation quality on this channel gets more and more stellar by the video
Not only the animations but the True Environment of WW1 Trenches
This is why you never fight for people that despise you.
Thank you for bringing this story up!
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."-William Shakespeare
Yé
Stop coating white man 😂
@@manjunathnr4624 coating?
Man who never existed said that?
I’ve always had a great admiration
For the Harlem hellfighiters. Who would have thought that a throwaway regiment would end up becoming one of the most decorated regents of the war? Their exploits on the battlefield were legendary. There should be a
Movie about the Harlem hellfighters. It would be just like Glory, only it would take place in WWI.
The problem with loyalty to a cause is that the cause will always betray you
Wow, that’s a pretty heroic and sad story. Dude sacrifices basically everything and all he got from his country was no work & loss of his wife and children.
The Africa Americans get the last laugh against the racism in the US Army as The Harlem Hellfighters become one of the most celebrated African-American regiments of WW1.
So you are telling me that the most decorated afro American unit of WW1, being composed of African American...is a win against racism ? Are you dense or something ? Or you phrased things badly maybe but you just said that the most decorated black unit is...black ?
The French showed more respect to them than their own people
@@Slenderslayer351 Because the French considered American blacks to be more civilized than their own African colonial subjects. Everything is more morally gray than it seems on the surface.
@@redaug4212 Yikes... It seems nobody can win
@@Slenderslayer351 Yea well, history isn't supposed to be perfect. That's the point of learning it.
I literally shed a tear for this man.
I did too I did too
I drop a load in the toilet after hearing this BS
Sad, the only thing that broke him was his 'own country,' not the enemy.
@@inquizative44 BS
@@hawk458 How is it BS?
animations are getting smooth as butter, great show!
I salute you sir. Such bravery against all odds.
William Henry Johnson, commonly known as Henry Johnson or black death, was a United States Army soldier who performed heroically in the first African American unit of the United States Army to engage in combat in World War I. 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. On June 2, 2015, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a posthumous ceremony at the White House.
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.
Johnson died, poor and in obscurity, in 1929. There was a long struggle to achieve awards for him from the U.S. military. He was finally awarded the Purple Heart in 1996. In 2002, the U.S. military awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross. Previous efforts to secure the Medal of Honor failed, but in 2015 he was posthumously honored with the award. On May 24, 2022, The Naming Commission recommended that Fort Polk in Leesville, Louisiana, be renamed Fort Johnson after Henry Johnson, rather than its existing namesake, Confederate General Leonidas Polk.
And the first americans to fight in WW1 were volunteers of the french foreign legion like Eugene Bullard.
As a digital nomad, I now see why these black soldiers either brought wives home or stayed abroad. The respect overseas especially for black vets is night & day compared to the states. There's statues of black American soldiers in the Philippines for fighting along with Filipinos. I didn't even know that was a thing until I moved over here. I guess that history is considered woke too.
Who are the black American soldier statues in the Philippines?
Badass! True will to survive and stick by his brother.
you belive i. this fake crap hilarious
What a hero and he was repaid with a slap in the face but let’s hope he gets more recognition of his bravery
Thank you for educating me - I live not far from Henry Johnson BLVD in Albany, NY and never had a clue who this amazing man was. I will remember him as I traverse the boulevard bearing his hallowed name and memory.
These men were the ones who had the real ww1 hand combat battles
Thanks for sharing this story
The introduction mission of Battlefield 1 is based off of this, and the main character of that mission was most likely based on him too. The infantry u play as at the start and end of the mission is the Harlem Hellfighters.
The main difference is he died and they got pushed back in the game.
imagine fighting overseas then coming back and having to fight for your right when you come home.. it's wild
An incredible man. Needam was also very brave for staying in the fight and helping Henry any way he could while he went on his rampage. If there wasn’t already a movie with the title, I’d say that when this guy gets a movie made about him it should be called Hardcore Henry. *haha* What a badass. And honestly your channel with the reach it has, will definitely get this guy a lot more much deserved recognition. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you for putting truth out. The man deserves all the honor due a true warrior.
A lot of thanks to this very brave man. Greetings from France.❤
I can't imagine what it felt like for those to valiantly serve next to and be championed as a hero in France and then spit on and beaten when they got home for the effort.
One of his sons became a red tail pilot during WW2
Do a video on mr krabs during his days in the navy
He saved several fish from terrible sunburns. I true bikini bottomite hero
Thank you for sharing this with us! I never heard of this man. 🙂👍🏾
Thank you for this video.
As a WWI buff thanks for this. True story was African Americans came to the French Army with Jazz music which is how it was introduced to Europe. The French really appreciated the black American soldiers and offered them French citizenship after the war. Unfortunately, most turned it down because they couldn't speak French.
Hilarious given the Haiti Massacre of French in 1804.
@@silverhawkscape2677 your'e dumb dude what about black people being subjected to slavery until 1864 in the US
@@silverhawkscape2677 you really need study Haiti society before the revolution. Every other white ethic groups was not killed, beside the French. And majority of the conflict would have been avoided if napoleon had thrown Toussaint in prison.
@@silverhawkscape2677 dude, was one hundred year before during slavery time, why you relate ww1 event to this ??
@@silverhawkscape2677 and yes after all in france you could be black or from the colony at the beginning of XX century and have an important job at the government or at the head of a french company and being respected by White people.
That's the True difference between french and USA back in this time, even after racial event, France don't have segregation with black community.
Now that Fort Polk in Louisiana has been renamed Fort Henry Johnson, more Americans will know about him, as they should have a long time ago.
It's a disgrace that the name of a hero like that should be put on a US fort that is in such a state of neglect and disrepair.
@@Sorcerers_Apprentice Perhaps you're right. But Camp Johnson nee Polk is being used by the Army as a valuble traning base with it's verying topography. MCB Camp Gonsalves at the northern tip of Okinawa isn't much of a base either, but it's there to process Marines through jungle combat training and other training and is very valuble. I hope Camp Johnson becomes the same, which will spread Henry Johnson's name even more than a normal base since more soldiers and Marines will cycle through Camp Johnson for traning and return to their home station to spread his name and deeds. God Bless Henry Johnson.
Sorry, I say "Camp" and not "Fort" out of habit because I was a Marine. It should be Fort Johnson, not Camp Johnson.
Hotep God bless you for doing this extremely important part of our History long been over looked ✊🏿💚🖤❤️
This is one of those stories i would expect to see a ovie coming out, sharing this story. Awe inspiring.
7:33 I really wonder if Wilson's praise was genuine, because well, if you know anything what the man did its really a wonder.
I'm not going to say that he was a good president... But he was certainly far from the worst of his ilk. He did far more damage to this country than can be easily talied.
He’s an enigma and POS. Wish they’d rename the bridge over the Potomac river.
Agreed
@@crylec6534 Democrats will never allow that because it would expose the historic racism of the party.
What did he do?
A true American hero. Unbelievably brave and courageous actions by this man. May he rest in peace.
Thank you so, so, so very much for telling this story.
You always find your True Brothers and Unmatched Love on the battlefield 💜
The hellfighters are underrated
No they aren’t
@@KiloMafia9you’d be surprised
Until Battlefield 1
Not underrated just not talked about enough
Compared to most American regiments that served in WWI, they are in fact one of the most overrated. People just want to convince themselves otherwise so they can feel like they're "in the know", when really this is normie-tier stuff when it comes to understanding WWI history.
A true shame he wasn’t given the gratitude he deserved by the American people at the time. Not many true warriors of his caliber
God bless this brave American soldier. I will hold his memory in high regard for the rest of my days as both a recipient of his service to defend us from our enemies and as a fellow former American soldier. RIP brother. Whoah! 🫡
The sacrifices that our African brothers and sisters must be told and remembered at all cost!.And never ever be forgotten!.rip hero henry Johnson🙏🏾
How abour EVERYONE'S sacrifices? Stop with this divisive bs.
@@oliverklozov13stop being stupid the white soldiers who came home didn’t have to face the racial harassment that the black soldiers faced
*Press F to pay respects* 💜🎖️
F
F
F
F
F
Henry Johnson was the bravest African-American soldier to serve in WW1.God bless him 🇺🇲
One of the bravest Americans in WWI.
Brave kang
@@gumps1986 thank you, I'm sick of everyone bringing race into everything.
Typical virtue signal cringe. Why not just praise the man's bravery?
Are you BLM?
I like this and about time someone reported and made this good of an animated video about the Harlem Hellfighters and the men that served within it, and should be known and shown to people that do not know their history. One man can make a difference!Peace
❤️❤️❤️ . Thx for the video !
"They push,we push."
The Harlem Hellfighters deserve a lot more praise than they get. RIP Henry Johnson
Not really. There plenty of WW1 soldiers that are far more deserving
@@ajschraufnagel I didn't say only the Harlem Hellfighters deserve praise
@@oliversherman2414 They already get far more attention than deserved. Similar to other black groups like Tuskegee Airmen. They accomplished very little, yet are always highlighted. The blackwashing of our history is a real problem
@@oliversherman2414 this dude is a racist ignore him only whites should take the glory in his eyes cause they our saviors.😂
"just fought for my life....a rabbit would've done that"
realest quote of the war
Respect sir! Love your story.
When you have to fight twice as hard to get half the respect!😟
These guys were beasts of men, if only us American's had a more open minded view back then.
If only
and now
One of the worst parts of America's history is their treatment towards anyone of colour
We probably shouldn't have joined ww1 if that's the case
@@sholdrodcrit yeah that's fair, but it took us out of Isolationism. Eventually leading us to be the world's most powerful country though.
Netflix should have adapting stories like this
Hits closed to home. My great uncle returned to Europe after WW1. He hated how Americans treated him after serving his country. He died in France in 1985
The band 1914 made a song of this battle
Don't Tread on Me (Harlem Hellfighters)
Good on France and the French people for recognizing these brave heroes. These brave men. Vive la France! ❤
Merci ! 😊
France had Europe's first all black regiment, the Legion St Georges aka American Legion, and had several black Generals eg Thomas Alexandre Dumas, Joseph Serrant, Wladislaw Jablonowski and Toussaint L'Ouverture a century before the first in the US
He should've stayed there. He'd have had a better life.
This is a true war hero, the type legends are formed for.
As a famous German field Marshall said after declaring “I have fought the British, the Russians, the French, the Belgians etc (they fought everyone) he said no one was quite like fighting the “American gangster” they are unpredictable, and do not give up when they should. I love my country 🇺🇸
so famous you can't give his name lmao
Thank you Henry Johnson! You were an amazing man
He should have been as equally famous and lauded by the public along with Sgt. York and Eddie Rickenbacker.
He didn’t get the recognition he deserved because of one person, Woodrow Wilson
This story was told with a high level of expertise and knowledge. I will definitely highlight Henry Johnson on my channel soon. Great work!👍🏾
Love this channel so damn much!!!
Love it when simple history keeps it real keep up the good work
While he definitely deserves to be a household name, I think you’ve done a good thing by using your channel to spread the word. Hopefully people will see this and his legacy will continue to grow
Used to watch this channel all the time but forgot about it... glad i found it again :) also shoutout to winston!
“We can not change the past, but we can change the future.”
If your willing to fight for freedom, I don’t care who you are, your one thing to me: an American.
This reminds me of the 761st tank battalion. Although under one of best generals, he was a racist one as well. Dispirited that, one of the men who severed, conducted an interview with Patton 360. One of the other members of the the 4th armored division was quoted as saying “I’d fight by them tomorrow”
Personally, they are heroes in every aspect.
Glad y’all gave him a video! “God damn, let’s go!”
Some people really don't get their recognition they deserve while they're still alive 🙏🏽
He should definitely be well known. Thank you Simple History for making this video.
I am surprised he managed to pull this off when he was possessing the world's biggest balls.
0:09
Love that reference to BF1 (The background).
All in all, great video!
It’s not a reference to BF1. This is just what some of the frontlines in France looked like
I’m sure this man came home and was treated far worse than any German that he went to war against.