Medal of Honor
November 9, 1918
near Pouilly, France
- Rank at action
- Private First Class
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Conflict
- World War I
- Unit or command
- Company A, 356th Infantry, 89th Division
- Presentation date
- December 31, 1919
The Citation
Sources ↓When information was desired as to the enemy's position on the opposite side of the Meuse River, Sgt. Johnston, with another soldier, volunteered without hesitation and swam the river to reconnoiter the exact location of the enemy. He succeeded in reaching the opposite bank, despite the evident determination of the enemy to prevent a crossing. Having obtained his information, he again entered the water for his return. This was accomplished after a severe struggle which so exhausted him that he had to be assisted from the water, after which he rendered his report of the exploit.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Harold Irving Johnston — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-26
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-000318
- Transcription status
- Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
- Last source check
- 2026-08-26
- Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
- 20
- Later or highest recorded rank
- Sergeant
- Entered service at
- Chicago, Ill.
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- 2f058a7ce3c4970eec8466109269b2da3ad8fada017ccebb0dfd09b167fb0626
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; current rendered profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
Private First Class is stored as the action rank and Sergeant as the later/profile rank.