HomeMy WebLinkAboutWWII Prog JohnsonWILLIAM J. JOHNSON
US Army, 755 Tank Battalion
Purple Heart
I asked my Dad on the 50th anniversary of WWII where he was 50 years ago and his reply came quickly, "I was in a foxhole in Italy."
On that mid-August day in 1945, I can still feel the cold, wet washcloth on my face as my grandmother "cleaned me up". She changed my clothes so we could go to the Methodist church
three blocks away to give thanks to God for the ending of the war.
Only four years earlier on March 15, 1941, my father, William J. "Bill" Johnson, answered the call of duty to his country. Tears still fill my eyes even today. Bill, still struggling
with his wife's death when he was drafted, had to leave his 18-month-old daughter in the care of his sister -- for as long as he was to be gone. What a sad day in the Johnson household.
My Dad went to Fort Sam Houston and then on to Fort Knox, Kentucky and was shipped out to the European Theater. He fought in four major battles. Dad was seriously injured in April
of 1945, just four months before Japan surrendered. Although he spent time in the hospital and received the Purple Heart, he was back on the battlefield as the war came to an end.
But expectancy turned to misery when Daddy was supposed to return home. We got all dressed up and went down to meet his train but he was not on it. We waited for hours before giving
up and going home -- a terrible experience for me as a six year old. Then a knock on our door woke us up in the night. It was my Dad!
He rarely talked about the war and his experiences but I know he had deep emotions even though they were never expressed. Years went by and Dad rebuilt his life. As his daughter, I
would like to honor him for his heroic service and personal sacrifices to his country. It is hard to find the right words to thank him for being a courageous soldier. William J. Johnson
died in 2001 at the age of 82.
Doris Johnson Emshoff
Bryan, Texas
WWII Prog Johnson