African American Medal of Honor Recipients

Fitz Lee was born in June 1866 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. As a Buffalo Soldier, he earned the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Spanish American War on June 30, 1898. He died in Leavenworth, Kansas, on September 14, 1899, at the age of 33.

Dennis Bell was born on December 28, 1866, in Washington, D.C. He enlisted in the Army in 1892. On June 30, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Bell along with three other soldiers, voluntarily went ashore to rescue wounded comrades during the Battle of Tayacoba. The following year, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day. He is buried is Arlington National Cemetery, Section 31, Site 349.

Sgt. Thomas Shaw was one of several Buffalo Soldiers who would wind up receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Indian Wars on the frontier.

He entered the Army as an illiterate ex-slave, but Moses Williams took advantage of the opportunities presented to him to become educated and also became a Buffalo Soldier who achieved one of the Army's highest honors during his military service career.

Benjamin Brown was an early African American recipient of the Medal of Honor, and had a military career that took him throughout the United States and the world.

Augustus Walley was born enslaved in 1856 in Maryland. He enlisted in the Ninth Cavalry in 1878. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on August 16, 1881. He fought at the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War in 1898. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 9, 1938.

Henry Johnson was born enslaved in 1850. He enlisted in the cavalry in 1867. By October 1879, he reached the rank of sergeant. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Milk River, October 2-5, 1879. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Section 23, Lot 16547.

Isaiah Mays was born enslaved in Virginia. On May 11, 1889 Mays was a corporal in Company B of the 24th Infantry when he was attacked in the “Wham Paymaster Robbery.” During the fighting he crawled and ran over two miles to the nearest ranch to get help. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on February 19, 1890. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 1, Grave 630-B.

George Henry Wanton was born on May 15, 1868, in Paterson, New Jersey. He earned the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Spanish American War on June 30, 1898. He retired from the Army in 1925 as a master sergeant. He died on November 24, 1940, at the age of 72.

William Othello Wilson was a member of the Ninth U.S. Cavalry at the end of the Plains Wars (1890). He was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery on December 30, 1890. Wilson was the last American soldier to receive the Medal of Honor for actions on American soil. He died in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1928.

Henry Johnson was an African American soldier in the all-Black 369th Infantry known as the Harlem Hellfighters. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on June 2, 2015, for his gallant action during World War I. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Freddie Stowers was born in South Carolina in 1896. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1917 and was assigned to the all-Black 371st Infantry Regiment. He was killed in action on September 28, 1918. He was the first African American to be awarded a Medal of Honor for actions during World War I, which he received posthumously on April 24, 1991. He is buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France.

John R. Fox was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1915. He graduated from Wilberforce University before being commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. On December 26, 1944, he sacrificed himself as a forward observer to help comrades and civilians escape German forces’ assault on Sommocolonia, Italy, in World War II. He was buried at Colebrook Cemetery in Whitman, Massachusetts. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on January 13, 1997.

Ruben Rivers was born in 1918 in Oklahoma. He was drafted into the Army in January 1942. He served with the 761st Tank Battalion, known as the Black Panthers. He was killed in action on November 19, 1944. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on January 13, 1997, for extraordinary heroism November 16-19, 1944.

George Watson was born in Mississippi in 1914. He later moved to Birmingham, Alabama and worked as a firefighter. He was drafted into the Army in September 1942. On March 8, 1943, the transport ship he was on sank and he rescued many soldiers. He died that day, and his body was not recovered. He was the first African American to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in January 1997.

Charles L. Thomas was born in 1920 in Birmingham, Alabama. His family relocated to Detroit, Michigan, where Thomas was drafted into the Army. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in World War II on December 14, 1944, near Climbach, France. He survived the war and died in Michigan in 1980. In January 1997, President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Thomas.

Vernon Baker was born in Wyoming in 1919. He enlisted in the U.S. Army before the attack on Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he was assigned to the all-Black 370th Infantry. He received the Medal of Honor in January 1997 for his brave actions on April 5, 1945, at Castle Aghinolfi in Italy. He died in 2010 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Edward Carter, Jr., grew up in Calcutta, India, Shanghai, China, and Los Angeles, California. He served in three different armies during his life. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in January 1997 for his heroic actions while serving in World War II. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Willy F. James, Jr., was born in 1920. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and initially served in a service unit. In 1945 he was transferred to the 413th Infantry Regiment and served as scout. He was killed in action on April 7, 1945, near Lippoldsberg, Germany. In September 1945 his widow received the Distinguished Service Cross that the Army posthumously awarded to James. Fifty-two years later, in 1997, James posthumously received the Medal of Honor.

William Thompson was born in 1927. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1945. During the Korean War, he was assigned to the Twenty-Fourth Infantry. He was killed in action on August 6, 1950, defending his comrades’ retreat. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on June 21, 1951. He was the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the Korean War.

Cornelius H. Charlton was born in 1929 in West Virginia. He enlisted in the Army in 1946. During the Korean War he fought in the Twenty-Fourth Infantry. The Twenty-Fourth Infantry was the last of the segregated Buffalo Soldier regiments to be integrated. He was killed during the Korean War on June 2, 1951. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on March 12, 1952. He is one of two African Americans awarded the Medal of Honor during the Korean War.

Pompey Factor was born in 1849 in Arkansas. He was a Black Seminole Indian Scout for 10 years, from 1870 to 1880. He helped the Buffalo Soldiers track various groups throughout the Southwest. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on April 25, 1875.

Isaac Payne was a Black Seminole born in Musquiz, Mexico in 1854. He enlisted as a trumpeter in the Seminole Indian Scouts in October of 1871. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on April 25, 1875. He died on January 12, 1904 and is buried int eh Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery in Brackettville, Texas.

John Ward was a Black Seminole Indian born in 1847 in Arkansas. He served for 25 years in the Black Seminole Indian Scouts working along the Buffalo Soldiers on the Texas frontier. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions of April 25, 1875. He died in 1911 and was buried at the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery in Brackettville, Texas.

Adam Paine was born in Florida in 1843. He personally experienced Indian Removal in the 1840s. Paine and other Black Seminoles relocated to Mexico in the 1850s. He later joined the Black Seminole Indian Scouts in 1873. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on September 26, 1874. He died on January 1, 1877.