ALBANY, N.Y. — The secretary of defense has recommended a posthumous Medal of Honor for a black World War I soldier from upstate New York who saved a comrade while fighting off a German attack in France, Senator Charles Schumer said Tuesday.
Chuck Hagel sent Congress a letter saying Sergeant Henry Johnson should receive the nation’s highest military decoration for bravery in combat, Schumer said. The railroad porter from Albany was serving in the all-black 369th
Infantry Regiment when he killed or wounded several enemy soldiers while saving a fellow soldier from capture.
The president gets the final word on the medal request, which also requires passage of special legislation in Congress because Johnson’s actions were more than five years ago. Schumer said he will sponsor the legislation that would exempt Johnson from the Medal of Honor rules that specify that heroic actions have to have taken place within five years to be considered.
‘‘Johnson should have received this recognition 95 years ago, and providing an exemption for him now is the right thing to do,’’ said Schumer, a New York Democrat.
If approved, Johnson would become the 89th black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor and just the second for heroism during World War I, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.