Defense secretary recommends Medal of Honor for WWI hero who served in all-black regiment
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The secretary of defense has recommended awarding a posthumous Medal of Honor to a black soldier from upstate New York who saved a comrade while fighting off a German attack in France during World War I.
Sen. Charles Schumer says Tuesday that Chuck Hagel has sent Congress a letter saying Sgt. Henry Johnson should receive the nation's highest military decoration for bravery in combat.
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 during a raid in May 1918.
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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.