logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
33m 45s

The Never-ending Battle of Henry Johnson

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

Henry Johnson, nicknamed Black Death, was one of the most famous American soldiers of World War I. He was part of the Harlem Hellfighters, the legendary all-Black U.S. Army unit, and awarded the French Croix de Guerre for single-handedly stopping an invading enemy force in the trenches. So how did he end up entirely forgotten? This is the story of one man’s inspiring fight – on and off the battlefield.

Special thanks to Washington University in St Louis Missouri for sharing archival material from the documentary Men of Bronze by William Miles.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Aug 26
Inside the Octagon: How AI Brings UFC’s Fastest Moments into Focus from Smart Talks with IBM
Most of what happens inside the UFC Octagon is too fast for the human eye to follow. Enter Alon Cohen, Executive Vice President of Innovation for TKO, who has spent 15 years building the data and AI systems that expose the hidden moments that help decide a match. Malcolm Gladwell ... Show More
47m 14s
Aug 19
From History Daily: Retreat from Cold Harbor
June 12, 1864. Union soldiers retreat in the dead of night to bring the Battle of Cold Harbor to a conclusion, ending one of the bloodiest encounters of the American Civil War. Enjoy this episode from History Daily, and find the show wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio. ... Show More
16m 7s
Aug 5
Jennifer Deluca: The Woman Making Sure No Veteran Heals Alone
When a veteran needs medical treatment far from home, where does their family stay? For 15 years, Jennifer Deluca has helped answer that question through Fisher House Boston. JR Martinez sits down with the recipient of the Citizen Honors Service Act Award, selected by Medal of Ho ... Show More
32m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2021
The Harlem Hellfighters of World War One
During World War One the 369th Infantry Regiment of the US Army gained a fearsome reputation. One of the most effective fighting units they spent more time in the frontline and suffered more casualties than any other American regiment. Given the nickname Men of Bronze by the Fren ... Show More
25m 40s
Nov 2023
USA: We Have Ways - The Black Military Experience
The existence of African-American soldiers has all but been erased from the popular narrative of the Second World War. James Holland and John McManus speak to the esteemed writer and academic Matthew Delmont to help explain how the experience of nearly a million black men on the ... Show More
44m 10s
Feb 2012
Jack Johnson and the Fight of the Century
<p>During Jack Johnson's time, the heavyweight championship was unofficially a whites-only title. Despite discrimination, he fought title-holder Tommy Burns in 1908. Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion, but some questioned his legitimacy.</p><p> </p> Learn more ab ... Show More
28m 57s
Nov 2018
November 13: The black soldier’s lament
A hundred years on from the end of World War I, we wanted to look at an aspect of the conflict we don't often talk about: the role of millions of troops of colour who fought for European powers. The excellent Christian Koller, professor of modern history at Zurich University, is ... Show More
34m 49s
Sep 2024
33 | Bad and Bougie | Complicated Champion Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson, the Galveston Giant, is known for two things: his brutal fists and fearless audacity. Before Muhammad Ali, Johnson shocked the world with his unrivaled boxing skills, shattering racial barriers and igniting racial tensions. On July 4th, 1910, in "The Fight of the Ce ... Show More
36 m
Nov 2024
The Unknown Warrior
<p>In the western nave of Westminster Abbey, nestled between illustrious tombs and beneath a slab of black Belgian marble, lies the body of an unidentified soldier of the First World War. He is remembered as the Unknown Warrior, a symbol of the half a million Commonwealth service ... Show More
38m 42s
Sep 2025
Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner’s Story in WWII
On this episode of Our American Stories, Clarence Smoyer, a gunner in the U.S. Army’s 3rd Armored Division—“Spearhead”—became one of World War II’s most unlikely heroes. In Cologne, his Pershing tank faced Gustav Schaefer’s Panzer in a duel captured on film, now one of history’s ... Show More
38m 16s
Jul 2023
138: The 15th New York/369th or The Harlem Hellfighters
“My men never retire. They go forward, or they die!”This is the story of the 15th New York, a.k.a, the 369th, or the Harlem Hellfighters.James “Big Jim” Europe is one of the most talented musicians in the world. His ragtime and early jazz sounds electrify New York City. That’s ex ... Show More
58m 50s
Mar 2020
61: The Louisiana Native Guard, the 54th Massachusetts & On: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
“It is hard to believe that Southern soldiers—and Texans at that—have been whipped by a mongrel crew of white and black Yankees … there must be some mistake.”This is the story of Black Soldiers in the Civil War.Black patriots are ready to fight from day one. The Lincoln Administr ... Show More
56m 23s
Feb 2023
Bearing Witness: One Black Troop's Trip to Buchenwald
On this episode of Our American Stories, Rona Simmons, author of The Other Veterans Of World War II, Stories from Behind the Front Lines, tells the story of Bill Scott, an African American combat engineer and photographer from Alabama who became one of the "black angels" for pris ... Show More
20m 18s