A Louisiana military base previously named after a Confederate general has been renamed to honor a Black World War I hero and Medal of Honor recipient.
Fort Polk, named after Confederate commander Leonidas Polk, will now be known as Fort Johnson to honor Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black hero of World War I who posthumously received the Medal of Honor in 2015.
While serving on the front lines of France in 1918, Johnson fought off a German night raid near the Argonne Forest, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Army. Johnson was wounded 21 times while beating back the attacking forces. He also prevented a wounded Black comrade from being taken prisoner when, after running out of grenades and ammunition, he killed two German soldiers with his knife.
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