Plaque unveiled at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, Honoring Henry Johnson, One of the Heroes of The Ivy Hero Book
By PORSHA AUZENNE
Public Affairs Office
FORT JOHNSON, La. — The Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson hosted a memorial dedi- cation ceremony Jan. 13 at Warrior Memorial Park to honor Sgt. Wil- liam Henry Johnson. A monument, which commemorates the sacrifices Johnson made to the country, was unveiled.
In June of 2023, Johnson was also celebrated at a historical redesigna- tion ceremony when the installation was rechristened Fort Johnson.
Johnson, who enlisted in the U.S. Army as part of the 369th Infantry Regiment in 1917, is renowned for his heroic performance in World War I.
In 1918, while on watch in the Ar- gonne Forest, Johnson successfully fought off a 24-man German raid. Despite suffering 21 wounds in the midst of battle, Johnson defeated multiple enemy soldiers while aid- ing in the rescue of fellow Soldier Pvt. Needham Roberts.
After the war ended, and because of his courage and selflessness in the face of adversity, Johnson was be-stowed a Croix de Guerre by France. He would later be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in 1996 and the Medal of Honor in 2015.
As the community of Soldiers, ci- vilians, leadership and elected offi- cials sat awaiting the historic reveal, JRTC and Fort Johnson command- ing general Brig. David W. Gardner expressed a few words of his own.
“I am proud to command one of the only, if not the only, bases named after an enlisted Soldier,” said Gard- ner. “This monument stands as a symbol of our enduring gratitude and serves as a reminder of what we do at this special place which has been so important in America’s his- tory — we forge the warrior spirit.”
Louisiana State Rep. Chuck Owen, added what the memorial unveiling meant to him.
“It’s a wonderful moment for someone to be recognized for some- thing that was lost on history,” said Owen. “For someone of this level of heroism to finally be commemo- rated, both with word and a monu- ment, says a lot about the American spirit, the U.S. Army and the brav- ery of Johnson himself.”
The ceremony concluded with Gardner personally thanking five Soldiers from the 46th Engineer Bat- talion who assisted in building the monument.
A special JRTC and Fort Johnson coin was awarded to Chief Warrant Officer David Hatcher, Staff Sgt. Jared Mitchell, Sgt. Darius Smith, Spc. Brandon Sheehan and Spc. Vla- dislav Bobkov.
A link to the video of the ceremony is here.
Fort Polk in Louisiana to be Renamed in Honor of Henry Johnson
Fort Polk, a U.S. Army installation and Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, will become Fort Johnson during a redesignation ceremony on June 13, 2023, in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a World War I Medal of Honor recipient who served in the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment (also known as the “Harlem Hellfighters”), and is featured in our book, THE IVY HERO.
In THE IVY HERO, we speak about the two World War I heroes who fought bravely on the battlefields of France in 1918 during World War I, but were passed over for consideration for Medals of Honor because of discrimination in the U.S. Army at the time—Anti-Semitism in the case of William Shemin, and racism in the case of Henry Johnson. Both soldiers were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama in June, 2015.
For background on what is about to become the “former” Fort Polk, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Polk
From a press release about the name change of the base:
The 369th Infantry Regiment was ordered into battle in 1918, and Johnson and his unit were brigaded with a French army colonial unit in front-line combat. Johnson served one tour of duty on the western edge of the Argonne Forest in France’s Champagne region, from 1918-1919.
For his battlefield valor, Johnson became one of the first Americans to be awarded the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme, France’s highest award for valor.
Johnson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor.
“Sgt. William Henry Johnson embodied the warrior spirit, and we are deeply honored to bear his name at the Home of Heroes,” said Brig. Gen, David W. Gardner, commanding general of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk.
The post is one of nine Army installations being redesignated in accordance with Defense Department-endorsed recommendations from the congressional Naming Commission to remove the names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia that commemorate the Confederate States of America or those who voluntarily served under the C.S.A. Congress directed the formation of the Naming Commission in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and charged it with providing these recommendations.
The Commission issued its three-part report to Congress in the summer of 2022. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III accepted all the Commission’s recommendations that September. On Jan. 5, 2023, William A. LaPlante, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, directed all Department of Defense organizations to begin implementing those recommendations.
“The Naming Commission sought to recommend names that are ‘inspirational to the Soldiers and civilians who serve on our Army posts, and to the communities who support them,’” Gardner said, adding: “Sgt. Johnson’s acts of selfless service during World War I will inspire those at our installation, where we have trained America’s men and women to deploy, fight and win our Nation’s wars for over 80 years”.
Copyright 2023 Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk. All rights reserved.
For Immediate Release
Authors: Sara Shemin Cass and Dan Burstein
Title: The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin
Publisher: City Point Press
Publication Date: November 8, 2022
ISBN: 9781947951648
Price: $19.99
THE IVY HERO: A BOOK FOR CHILDREN, A BOOK FOR READERS OF ALL AGES, A BOOK FOR VETERAN’S DAY, A BOOK FOR EVERY DAY
Sergeant Shemin served at a time when the contributions and heroism of Jewish Americans in uniform were too often overlooked. But William Shemin saved American lives. He represented our nation with honor. And so it is my privilege, on behalf of the American people, to make this right and finally award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant William Shemin.
–-President Barack Obama, at the White House Ceremony, June 2, 2015, awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to William Shemin and Henry Johnson nearly a century after their heroic service in World War I.
New York, NY—War stories are not the first thing you think of when you think of children’s books, but The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin is a special case. Because it is not just a war story—it is a story of immigration and the American Dream; of racism and anti-Semitism and the fight to overcome them; of faith and family values and bravery, patriotism and service to country, and a history every child—and adult—should know.
Although much progress has been made, racial and religious discrimination have been with American society from the birth of our country to the present day. The struggle for equality and freedom continues, as people try to make the United States a “more perfect union.” The pain and suffering of war and discrimination run through The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin, but it has a hopeful ending.
Written with the young reader in mind, The Ivy Hero is the true story of Sergeant William (Bill) Shemin, child of immigrants, semipro baseball player as a teenager in Bayonne, NJ, who decided to volunteer for his country as an American soldier in World War I. Even though he was dedicated, fearless, and brave, he was not awarded the Medal of Honor during his lifetime for one reason alone: He was Jewish.
The Ivy Hero also shares the story of Henry Johnson, an African American soldier who, like Bill, fought bravely and heroically in World War I—not far away from the battlefields where Bill fought in France in 1918. Also, like Bill, Henry Johnson’s bravery in saving his fellow soldiers’ lives went unrecognized with a Medal of Honor in his lifetime, even though his actions certainly called for one. This hero was discriminated against because he was African American at a time when African Americans were severely discriminated against in the U.S. Army and throughout American life.
Long after his service in the army was over, Bill’s daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth, waged her own battle for many years to have the U.S. government award him the Medal of Honor that rightfully should have been awarded at the time of his service in World War I. Both Bill Shemin and Henry Johnson were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2015 by President Barack Obama, due in no small measure to the efforts of Elsie and many other supporters of both men in numerous organizations, the military, and in Congress.
Why The Ivy Hero? Sergeant Shemin fought with the U.S. Army’s 4th Division, which is known as the “Ivy” Division because the Roman Numeral for 4 is composed of an I before a V—IV—so its nickname is “IVY.” The Ivy Division’s motto, mirroring the way the ivy plant itself grows, is “steadfast and loyal.” After serving in World War I in the Ivy Division, Bill Shemin used the ivy plant as the logo for his tree and plant business in the Bronx. And “steadfast and loyal” was how he lived his life. He passed along his values of patriotism, education, close family ties, and hard work to three children and 14 grandchildren.
During a time when historical truth is being challenged in our schools, and elsewhere, readers need to know actual events like The IvyHero imparts so that any progress made is not being lost to hate and ignorance. The book is expected to be widely used in schools—some way to get this idea across—and note that a curriculum and lesson plan is available to teachers. You may find out more about the book here: theivyhero.com.
About the Authors:
Sara Shemin Cass is the eldest grandchild of Sgt. William Shemin. She has many life-shaping and important memories of him and experienced firsthand the importance he placed on patriotism, hard work, and family. She has worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Bank Supervision for over thirty-five years. A mother and grandmother, she was motivated to create this book to keep the legacy of William Shemin alive for the next generation of the Shemin family, as well as those too young to learn this story from those who had firsthand memories of the twentieth-century events described here.
Dan Burstein’s grandmother, Leah Shemin Burstein, was William Shemin’s first cousin. Dan’s father, Leon Burstein, got his first job as a teenager working in Bill Shemin’s greenhouse in the Bronx. Dan met Bill on several occasions, including once as a five-year-old when Bill told him stories from World War I. Dan is the author of fourteen nonfiction books, is managing partner of Millennium Technology Value Partners, a venture capital firm, and a father and grandfather. He traveled with his wife, Julie O’Connor, and son, David Burstein, on a 2018 family trip to the battlefields in France to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the battles in which both William Shemin and Henry Johnson fought.
More information: www.theivyhero.com