Private Henry Johnson, African-American (1892 - 1929), received the
Medal of Honor at the same time as Jewish Sergeant William Shemin.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/us/two-world-war-i-soldiers-to-posthumously-receive-medal-of-honor.html?_r=0

I attended with 65 members of the Shemin family. Private Johnson had
no heirs so the NY National Guard accepted on his behalf. Born in
North Carolina (?) in 1892, Johnson moved to New York as a teenager
and worked as a chauffeur, a coal yard laborer and a railroad station
porter in Albany.

See this article for a family that thought they were related but wasn't:

http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/with-medal-of-honor-award-family-learns-wwi-hero-wasnt-kin/

Wikipedia says he was born in Alexandria, VA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lincoln_Johnson

I would love help with tracing this tragic hero -- tricky of course
because of the name Johnson. Thanks.
David Laskin, Seattle, WA

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