VFW Honors African-American Medal of Honor Recipients

A total of 39 African-American veterans have earned the Medal of Honor during VFW-qualifying actions, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

February 07, 2020

More than 3,500 service members have earned the nation’s highest military decoration. But of those, only 92 have been black men, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

The Medal of Honor (MOH) is an award that dates back to the Civil War. The first African-American service member who earned the prestigious award was Army Sgt. William H. Carney, a man born a slave in 1840 in Norfolk, Va., according to the Department of Defense.

Attached to C Co., 54th Massachusetts Colored Inf. Regt., Carney earned the MOH for his actions on July 18, 1864, during a battle at Fort Wagner on Morris Island, S.C. A battle narrative recalls that his unit’s color guard was shot, and Carney took it upon himself to catch the flag and not let it touch the ground. He is believed to have carried the flag throughout the battle without letting it touch the ground, even when he was wounded. Carney was later presented with the Medal of Honor on May 23, 1900.

Delays in presenting African-Americans their earned Medals of Honor have been common throughout American history. In the early 1990s, the Army worked with Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., to determine if any racial disparity was present during the process of considering Medals of Honor for black troops.

The investigation determined that seven African-American soldiers should have received the Medal of Honor during World War II. Those seven men are 1st Lt. Vernon J. Baker, Staff Sgt. Edward A. Carter Jr., 1st Lt. John R. Fox, Pfc. Willy F. James Jr., Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers, Maj. Charles L. Thomas and Pvt. George Watson.

During a ceremony on Jan. 12, 1997, at the White House, all men were awarded the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton. Baker was the only living recipient at the time of the ceremony.

As of November 2019, the most recent African-American service member to receive the Medal of Honor was Marine Sgt. Major John L. Canley for his actions during the Battle of Hue in January-February 1968 in the Vietnam War. Canley was presented the award by President Donald Trump during a ceremony on Oct. 17, 2018, at the White House.

Visit vfw.org/magazine to read an article about Canley in the March 2019 issue of VFW magazine.

Here is a list of the 39 African-American men who have earned the Medal of Honor during VFW-qualifying actions.

Sgt Maj Edward Baker Jr
Sgt. Maj. Edward L. Baker Jr.

Spanish-American War

Army

Sgt. Maj. Edward L. Baker Jr.
10th Cav Regt.
July 1, 1898
Santiago, Cuba
Left cover to rescue a wounded soldier from drowning.

Pvt. Dennis Bell
H Troop, 10th Cav Regt.
June 30, 1898
Cuba
Voluntarily went ashore to aid in rescue of troops.

Pvt. Fitz Lee
M Troop, 10th Cav Regt.
June 30, 1898
Cuba
Voluntarily went ashore to aid in rescue of troops.

Pvt. William H. Thompkins
G Troop, 10th Cav Regt.
June 30, 1898
Cuba
Voluntarily went ashore to aid in rescue of troops.

Pvt. George H. Wanton
M Troop, 10th Cav Regt.
June 30, 1898
Cuba
Voluntarily went ashore to aid in rescue of troops.

Navy

Fireman 1st Class Robert Penn
USS Iowa (BB-4)
July 20, 1898
Off Santiago, Cuba
Stopped a fire during a boiler accident.

Pvt Henry Johnson
Pvt. Henry Johnson

World War I

Army

Cpl. Freddie Stowers*
C Co., 371st Inf. Regt., 93rd Div.
Sept. 28, 1918
Champagne-Marne, France
Urged squad to fight after wounded by machine-gun fire.

Pvt. Henry Johnson**
C Co., 369th Inf. Regt., 93rd Div.
May 14, 1918
Argonne Forest, France
Prevented wounded soldier from being taken prisoner and fought with only a knife.

Staff Sgt Edward A Carter Jr
Staff Sgt. Edward A. Carter Jr.

World War II

Army

1st Lt. Vernon J. Baker
Weapons Plt., C Co., 1st Bn., 370th Inf. Regt., 92nd Inf. Div.
April 5-6, 1945
Viareggio, Italy
Killed nine enemy soldiers and eliminated three machine-gun positions.

Staff Sgt. Edward A. Carter Jr.**
56th Armd. Inf. Bn., 12th Armd. Div.
March 23, 1945
Speyer, Germany
While wounded, killed six and captured two Germans.

1st Lt. John R. Fox*
598th FA Bn., 366th Inf. Regt., 92nd Inf. Div.
Dec. 26, 1944
Sommocolonia, Italy
Caused the deaths of about 100 German troops.

Pfc. Willy F. James Jr.*
G Co., 413th Inf. Regt., 104th Inf. Div.
April 7, 1945
Lippoldsberg, Germany
Volunteered to scout German positions and took the point in a counter attack.

Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers*
A Co., 761st Tank Bn.
Nov. 15-19, 1944
Guebling, France
Directed tank fire at enemy positions, while wounded.

Maj. Charles L. Thomas**
C Co., 614th Tank Destroyer Bn., 411th Inf. Regt., 103rd Inf. Div.
Dec. 14, 1944
Climbach, France
Directed soldiers of C Company to fight enemy forces, while wounded.

Pvt. George Watson*
2nd Bn., 29th Quartermaster Regt.
March 8, 1943
Porloch Harbor, New Guinea
Saved soldiers who could not swim after transport ship was attacked by bombers.

PFC William Thompson
Pfc. William Thompson

Korean War

Army

Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton*
C Co., 1st Bn., 24th Inf. Regt., 25th Inf. Div.
June 2, 1951
Chipo-ri, Korea
Killed six Chinese soldiers and destroyed two enemy positions.

Pfc. William Thompson*
M Co., 3rd Bn., 24th Inf. Regt.,
25th Inf. Div.
Aug. 6, 1950
Haman, Korea
Killed countless enemy troops, while wounded.

PFC Milton L Olive III
Pfc. Milton L. Olive III

Vietnam War

Army

Sgt. 1st Class Webster Anderson
A Btry., 2nd Bn., 320th Arty Regt., 101st Abn. Inf. Div.
Oct. 15, 1967
Tam Ky, Vietnam
Directed unit to fight while being wounded by several grenades.

Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Ashley Jr.*
Detachment A-101, C Co.,
5th Special Forces Grp.,
1st Special Forces
Feb. 6-7, 1968
Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam
Led assault in attempt to save other troops.

Sgt. 1st Class William M. Bryany*
A Co., 5th Special Forces Grp., 1st Special Forces
March 24, 1969
Long Khánh Province, Vietnam
Directed attacks against enemy, while wounded.

Spec. 6 Lawrence Joel
1st Bn., 503rd Inf. Regt., 173rd Abn. Bde.
Nov. 8, 1965
Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
While wounded, defied orders to treat wounded soldiers.

Spec. 5 Dwight H. Johnson
B Co., 1st Bn., 69th Armor Regt., 4th Inf. Div.
Jan. 15, 1968
Dak To, Vietnam
Killed several enemy troops, which saved fellow soldiers.

Pfc. Garfield M. Langhorn*
C Trp., 7th Sqdn., 17th Cav Regt., 1st Avn. Bde.
Jan. 15, 1969
Pleiku, Vietnam
Threw himself on enemy grenade to protect wounded soldiers.

Sgt. Matthew Leonard*
Co. B, 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div.
Feb. 28, 1967
Suoi Da, Vietnam
Commanded men and charged an enemy machine gun, while wounded.

Sgt. Donald R. Long*
C Trp., 1st Sqdn., 4th Cav Regt., 1st Inf. Div.
June 30, 1966
Binh Long province, Vietnam
Threw himself on enemy grenade to save eight fellow troops.

Staff Sgt. Melvin Morris^
3rd Co., 3rd Bn., IV Mobile Strike Force
Sept. 17, 1969
Chi Lang, Vietnam
Led advance to recover a fallen sergeant and destroyed four enemy bunkers, while wounded.

Pfc. Milton L. Olive III*
3rd Plt., B Co., 2nd Bn., 503rd Inf. Regt., 173rd Abn. Bde.
October 22, 1965
Phu Cuong, Vietnam
Threw himself on enemy grenade to protect fellow troops.

Capt. Riley Pitts*
C Co., 2nd Bn., 27th Inf. Regt., 25th Inf. Div.
Oct. 31, 1967
Ap Dong, Vietnam
Threw himself on grenade that did not explode. Pitts was later killed in the battle.

Lt. Col. Charles C. Rogers
1st Bn., 5th FA Regt.
Nov. 1, 1968
Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam
Led soldiers to defend a forward fire support base, while wounded.

1st Lt. Ruppert L. Sargent*
B Co., 4th Bn., 9th Inf. Regt., 25th Inf. Div.
March 15, 1967
Hau Nghia Province, Vietnam
Threw himself on two enemy grenades, saving lives of fellow troops.

Spec. 5 Clarence E. Sasser^
3rd Bn., 60th Inf. Regt., 9th Inf. Div.
Jan. 10, 1968
Ding Tuong Province, Vietnam
While wounded, faced enemy fire while treating wounded troops.

Staff Sgt. Clifford C. Sims*
D Co., 2nd Bn., 501st Inf. Regt., 101st Abn. Div.
Feb. 21, 1968
Hue, Vietnam
Threw himself on a booby trap, saving fellow troops.

1st Lt. John E. Warren Jr.*
C Co., 2nd Bn., 22nd Inf. Regt., 25th Inf. Div.
Jan. 14, 1969
Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam
Threw himself on an enemy grenade, saving fellow troops.

Marine Corps

Pfc. James Anderson Jr.*
2nd Plt., Fox Co., 2nd Bn., 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Div.
Feb. 28, 1967
Cam Lo, Vietnam
Threw himself on an enemy grenade, saving fellow troops.

Pfc. Oscar P. Austin*
Echo Co., 2nd Bn., 7th Marines, 1st Marine Div.
Da Nang, Vietnam
Feb. 23, 1969
Threw himself on an enemy grenade, saving a fellow Marine.

Gunnery Sgt. John L. Canley^
Alpha Co., 1st Bn., 1st Marines
Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 1968
Hue, Vietnam
Led attacks against the enemy and faced enemy fire to carry wounded Marines to safety.

Sgt. Rodney M. Davis*
2nd Plt., Bravo Co., 1st Bn., 5th Marines, 1st Marine Div.
Sept. 6, 1967
Quang Nam Province, Vietnam
Threw himself on an enemy grenade, saving fellow troops.

Pfc. Robert H. Jenkins Jr.*
Charlie Co., 3rd Reconnaissance Bn., 3rd Marine Div.
March 5, 1969
Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
Threw himself on a fellow Marine to shield him from enemy grenade.

Pfc. Ralph H. Johnson*
Alpha Co., 1st Reconnaissance Bn., 1st Marine Div.
March 5, 1968
Quang Nam Province, Vietnam
Threw himself on an enemy grenade, saving a fellow Marine.

*KIA, earned posthumously
**Earned posthumously (not KIA)
^Living recipient (as of November 2019)

This article is featured in the February 2020 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Dave Spiva, associate editor for VFW magazine.

VFW Honors African-American Medal of Honor Recipients

A total of 39 African-American veterans have earned the Medal of Honor during VFW-qualifying actions, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Spanish-American War

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

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