SCHUMER: FINALLY OUR COUNTRY WILL PROPERLY HONOR SGT. HENRY JOHNSON WHO WILL RECEIVE MEDAL OF HONOR HE RIGHTFULLY DESERVES ON TUESDAY
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer laid a wreath at the Sgt. Henry Johnson Monument in Washington Park today to pay his respects to Sgt. Henry Johnson on the eve of his Medal of Honor Ceremony. Today was a very special visit for the Albany community and Senator Schumer, who has visited the monument in Washington Park many times during his 16-year effort to secure this long-awaited recognition and make right this century-old wrong. Schumer thanked local veteran groups in Albany that have been invaluable in helping to secure the medal and remain steadfast in their efforts over the years.
“Sgt. Henry Johnson, Albany resident and Harlem Hellfighter, is a true American hero, who displayed the most profound battlefield bravery in World War I, yet the nation for which he was willing to give his life shamefully failed to recognize his heroics, just because he was a black man,” said Senator Schumer. “This century-old injustice finally made right will be a profound gesture that will rectify a sad chapter in American history. And our nation on Tuesday will finally say “Thank-you’ to Sergeant Johnson, and the countless other African Americans who put their lives on the line for a nation that failed to treat them with full equality before the law. It took years of exhaustive research to prove his claim, impassioned advocacy by local historians and by his relations, and legislation passed through both houses of Congress to waive the statute of limitations on his award to get this done, but the effort has finally paid off. It will be one of my proudest accomplishments as Senator to see our country’s highest military honor bestowed upon Henry Johnson," said Senator Schumer.
Schumer has campaigned relentlessly to secure medal of honor for African American WWI hero, Harlem Hellfighter & Albany resident Sgt. henry Johnson, who was denied our nation’s highest military honor due to racism and segregation
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