releases: https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/johnnie-johnson-gets-congressional-gold-medal
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/johnnie-johnson-gets-congressional-gold-medal | Johnnie Johnson Gets Congressional Gold Medal | 2016-11-28 | 2016 | 2016-11 | Democrat | House | MO | Claire McCaskill | M001170 | www.mccaskill.senate.gov | legacy | Johnnie Johnson Gets Congressional Gold Medal Monday, November 28, 2016 By: Kevin Killeen ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – He was the inventive, key-pounding piano player behind Chuck Berry’s sound, but before that, Johnnie Johnson was a Marine. Johnson, who died 11 years ago, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously for his service in a 1940s black Marine outfit that helped pave the way for desegregation of the Armed Forces. Frances Johnson, widow of the late jazz and blues pianist Johnnie Johnson, holds the Congressional Gold Medal following a ceremony honoring Johnson, at the National Blues Museum in St. Louis on November 28, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI In a ceremony at the National Blues Museum in downtown St. Louis, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill noted that the success of the Montford Point Marines moved President Harry Truman to let blacks and whites serve together in the military. McCaskill sponsored the legislation to give the award to Johnson and all the members of the Montford Point Marines. A letter of congratulations from President Barack Obama was read to a roomful of Johnson’s family, friends and fans. “I’ve been in a few beautiful situations with him, but I think this kind of trumps everything,” said Johnson’s widow, Francis Johnson. Asked what the piano player known for his humility would think of all the fuss, Francis Johnson smiled. “He’d be the coolest thing in the house,” she said. “Typical man thing, taller than ever, act like a Marine for a few minutes, and I’d get him home and bring him back to reality.” Johnson’s former drummer Richard Hunt also attended the ceremony. “Johnny has always been an inspiration, not only to myself, but to an awful lot of people,” Hunt said. “From the point in time when he was a young man in the Montford Point Marines, to the point where Johnny has strived to create and help format the shape of American music.” Print Email Tweet | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |