Carl Johnson

Personal Information

Birthplace: Salina, Kansas

Service Information

Branch of Service: Army

Unit: 194th Glider Infantry

Theater of Operation: European

Enlisted / Commissioned: Nov 11, 1942

Discharged: Nov 9, 1945

Honored By: Wife, Esther Johnson; daughters: Sharon Cooper, Melanie Neff

Biography

I left Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on an English ship headed for England. We were part of a convoy of ships that zigzagged across the Atlantic Ocean to avoid the German ships. This was winter, and the ocean was rough, with waves I could not have imagined. It took two weeks to cross. I was part of the Normandy Invasion of France and went on through France, Holland and Germany. One thing I will never forget about the Normandy landing was the number of dead bodies in the water and on the beach. I left France to go home on a Liberty ship, and the trip was the opposite of the trip over. The conditions on the ship and the weather were much better. I had three brothers, Leo Johnson, Vernal Johnson and Robert Johnson who all served in the pacific side of the war. They all returned from the war, but are all dead now.