Posthumous Honor for Black World War 1 Soldier: Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson, now honors Sgt. William Henry Johnson

Johnson was outspoken about the racism experienced by Black soldiers, for which the Army punished him by canceling the speaking engagements that he was assigned after his heroic actions. He died in 1929 of myocarditis following a tuberculosis diagnosis.

The branch-wide push to remove the names of Confederate leaders from military bases came amid increased focus on racial inequalities following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. 

• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last year approved a proposal by a congressional commission to rename nine bases in honor of several people of color who made significant contributions with their service.

Several bases have been re-designated recently, including Fort Hood in Texas, which was renamed Fort Cavazos last month in honor of Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos, the first Hispanic person to wear four stars on his uniform. 

Earlier this month, North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, one of the world’s largest military installations, was renamed Fort Liberty.

Fort Polk is now Fort Johnson after US Army moves to honor World War I hero

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN

Updated 12:40 PM EDT, Tue June 13, 2023

The US Army on Tuesday officially renamed Louisiana's Fort Polk as Fort Johnson, the latest US military installation to be redesignated as part of an effort to strip Confederate leaders of the honor.

From US Army/Facebook

WashingtonCNN — 

The US Army on Tuesday officially renamed Louisiana’s Fort Polk as Fort Johnson, the latest US military installation to be re-designated as part of an effort to strip Confederate leaders of the honor.

The base, officially named Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson, now honors Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black US soldier during World War I who fought off about two dozen Germans alone, killing at least four. It was previously named after Confederate commander Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk.

“Sgt. Henry Johnson embodied the warrior spirit, and we are deeply honored to bear his name at the Home of Heroes,” said Brig. Gen. David Gardner, the commanding general of the base, according to excerpts from his prepared remarks shared with CNN.

“Sgt. Johnson’s acts of self-less service during World War I will inspire those at our installation, where we have trained and deployed America’s men and women to fight and win our nation’s wars for over 80 years,” he added.

• Johnson, who was awarded a Purple Heart and Medal of Honor posthumously, 
• enlisted two months after the US became officially involved in World War I 
• and began his military career in a segregated New York regiment based in Harlem, the Army said in a statement last month.

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