Johnson Henry Shemin Biography

Johnson Henry was born in Winston Salem , North Carolina but later as a teen he moved to New York. There he worked as a soda mixer in a drugstore, a laborer in a coal yard, and a railway porter at Albany's Union Station. During Johnson's time in Albany he married a woman named Edna and the couple had three children. On 6 April 1917 the United States declared war on Germany. On 5 June 1917 Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Army at the Marcy Avenue armory in Brooklyn New York. In 1918, racism against African Americans was common among white American troops and up the line within the U.S. military, while French troops welcomed them. Johnson was recognized by the French. In February of 1919, the Harlem Hellfighters returned to New York for a parade. After war happen In 1996 Henry Johnson was finally awarded the Purple Heart, routinely given to soldiers wounded in action.
During his teenage years Shemin played pro baseball. He graduated from the New York State Ranger School in 1914, and went on to work as a forester in Bayonne. Shemin participated in the Aisne-Marne Offensive where he took shrapnel and was wounded by a machine gun bullet that pierced his helmet and was lodged behind his left ear. Shemin was hospitalized for three months and later received light duty as part of the Army occupation in Germany and Belgium until he completed his tour. Shemin received the Purple Heart for his injuries during combat. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for battlefield valor in December 19, 1919. After graduation he started a greenhouse and landscaping business in Bronx New York where he raised three children later Shemin died in