James E. Johnson

He stayed behind covering his Marines under heavy enemy fire

James Edmund Johnson was born in Pocatello, Idaho, on January 1, 1926. He attended local public schools and enlisted in the Marine Corps on November 10, 1943, aged seventeen. During the Second World War he fought at Peleliu and Okinawa. After discharge in February 1946, he worked as a machinist and attended Western Washington College.

He reenlisted in January 1948. While serving at Quantico he met Mary Jeanne, whom he married in October 1949. He later taught post-exchange accounting at the Marine Corps Institute in Washington. In August 1950 he departed for Korea shortly after the birth of their daughter.

His regular unit was Battery L, 4th Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division. During the withdrawal from Yudam-ni, artillerymen were formed into provisional rifle units to help clear Chinese troops from the high ground. On December 2, 1950, Sergeant Johnson led a squad in a provisional platoon attached to Company J, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines.

When the platoon leader was absent, Johnson took command under heavy fire. He encouraged his men and directed their resistance against a much larger, concealed enemy force. Ordered to displace, he remained in an exposed position to cover their withdrawal. Last seen wounded, throwing grenades and fighting at close quarters, he enabled his fellow Marines to escape.

Johnson did not return. He was carried as missing before an administrative finding of presumed death. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency now records him as killed in action on December 2, 1950, with his remains unrecovered and still unaccounted for. There is no confirmed record of his capture.

Secretary of the Navy Robert B. Anderson presented his posthumous Medal of Honor to Mary Jeanne at the Pentagon on March 29, 1954. Johnson is commemorated at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and by an in-memory marker at Arlington National Cemetery.

Official Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a squad leader in a provisional rifle platoon composed of artillerymen and attached to Company J, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Vastly outnumbered by a well-entrenched and cleverly concealed enemy force wearing the uniforms of friendly troops and attacking his platoon's open and unconcealed positions, Sgt. Johnson unhesitatingly took charge of his platoon in the absence of the leader and, exhibiting great personal valor in the face of a heavy barrage of hostile fire, coolly proceeded to move about among his men, shouting words of encouragement and inspiration and skillfully directing their fire. Ordered to displace his platoon during the firefight, he immediately placed himself in an extremely hazardous position from which he could provide covering fire for his men. Fully aware that his voluntary action meant either certain death or capture to himself, he courageously continued to provide effective cover for his men and was last observed in a wounded condition single-handedly engaging enemy troops in close hand-grenade and hand-to-hand fighting. By his valiant and inspiring leadership, Sgt. Johnson was directly responsible for the successful completion of the platoon's displacement and the saving of many lives. His dauntless fighting spirit and unfaltering devotion to duty in the face of terrific odds reflect the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service.