Johnnie Johnson To Receive Posthumous Congressional Gold Medal

(The Blues) Piano icon Johnnie Johnson is to receive a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his military service. The Chuck Berry collaborator, who died in 2005, was one of the first African-Americans to join the US Marine Corps in 1942. He trained at Camp Montford Point in North Carolina during the era in which the US army remained segregated.

Over 24,000 troops trained at Montford Point until its closure in 1949, when the army was desegregated. Since 2012, over 700 of those have been decorated.

Johnson was a member of Bobby Troup's jazz orchestra during his time in the Marines. When his service ended he worked with Muddy Waters and Little Walter. Read more here.

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