John S. Johnson was born in Midco, Missouri in December 1921 and grew up during the Great Depression. His father had to seek employment in the construction business in Saint Louis when Johnson was very young. His mother was a housewife. Life was not too bad for the family until 1931 when his father was bankrupted. Johnson knew not to ask for too much from his father. Johnson worked as a youth by aiding his father in repairing fire damaged homes. When the Japanese bombed the USS Panay (PR-5) in China, Johnson was in a boarding school. It was 1937. He felt war was imminent. He wanted to enlist but most young men were entering Roosevelt's [Annotator's Note: President Franklin D. Roosevelt] CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was a good means to teach youth regimentation and agriculture, plus how to use and work on heavy equipment. The youth would use the knowledge of how to operate and repair a bulldozer to apply to working on tanks during the war. The two vehicles are not dissimilar except the latter has a turret with a gun. Prior to the war, isolationists kept military spending down. Most of the equipment Johnson had on Wake Island was World War 1 vintage. After Johnson graduated in 1939, he joined the Marine Corps. When England and France entered the war in September 1939, the New York Police Department had more men than the United States Marines. The nation's defense capability was very limited at that time.

John S. Johnson completed United States Marine Corps training and became an infantryman. He had military training prior to enlistment at his boarding school and with the National Guard. He was assigned to the 15th Marine Artillery Regiment. The regiment had three inch antiaircraft guns and heavy machine guns. War in Europe erupted in September 1939 but little was done in the United States until the British evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 [Annotator's Note: late May and early June 1940]. The Marine Corps began a significant expansion. Reorganization of existing regiments began along with simultaneous initiation of new units. Johnson was sent to Pearl Harbor in February 1941 with the objective of defending those islands along with Midway, Wake and Palmyra Islands. Imminent war danger was obvious to Johnson in May 1941 when all capital ships were ordered out of Pearl Harbor. He and the 1st Defense Battalion assisted in preparing and supplying those ships prior to their departure. He departed Pearl in August 1941 while the ships were still at sea. Why they were all mustered in the harbor on 7 December 1941 is a mystery to him. After being captured on Wake and sent to Japanese prisoner of war camps, the Marines were shown photographs of the attack damage at Pearl Harbor. They could not believe what they were being shown because as far as they knew, the ships had all been deployed to sea. Prior to going to Wake, Johnson served police duty in Hawaii until August 1941. He went to Wake as part of a Pioneer Platoon to build up the defensive positions on the island. There were already Navy and civilian construction workers on the island. The island airstrip was under construction. Seaplanes could land near the island. The 150 man Pioneer Platoon grew to 450 Marines on the island by the time of the Japanese attack. There were 1,250 civilian construction workers. The men felt they had drawn a bad poker hand by being assigned to Wake. Johnson, a corporal, was assigned to install .50 caliber machine guns on the island. The guns had a tremendous recoil and mounting them could be problematic. When he arrived, the Wake commanding officer was from a different defense battalion than the troops under his command. Devereux [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux] replaced him in October or November [Annotator's Note: October or November 1941]. The new commander ordered his men to fill their canteens at night with fresh water. He also directed that a box of rifle ammunition was issued to each Marine tent anticipating a potential surprise Japanese attack. The Marines slept on bedrolls in their tents. It turned out that Johnson would not sleep on a mattress from August 1941 to September 1945.

John S. Johnson heard the bugler blowing a strange call the morning of the Japanese attack on Wake Island. It was an alert notification for the pilots to man their aircraft. Shortly after, the bugler blew general quarters and Johnson grabbed his gear to man his battle station on Wilkes Island. A klaxon mounted to one of the three Marine water towers was used to alert the troops. Communications from incoming American aircraft in addition to Pearl Harbor and Manila communiques indicated that those American facilities had been attacked by the Japanese. Weapons were test fired by the Marines on Wake. A mid-morning mist came over the island. The Marine airstrip was hit by nine Japanese planes after the mist dissipated. Gasoline tanks exploded. There were 16 - .50 caliber machine guns for Wake's defense. Johnson had four of them on Wilkes Island. The other 12 machine guns were split up between Peale and Wake Island. Johnson fired on the enemy planes. A Pan Am clipper [Annotator's Note: the Philippine Clipper was a Martin M-130 flying boat] at Wake was fired upon but not severely damaged by the enemy aircraft. The clipper flew back to Pearl Harbor after the attacking planes departed. The war was officially started for the United States.

John S. Johnson and the Marines on Wilkes Island followed their routine after the initial Japanese aerial assault on the Wake Island group [Annotator's Note: on 8 December 1941]. The planes that flew against the islands the next day, flew at a much higher altitude. There were four defensive Marine aircraft stationed on Wake. Two of the pilots were lost when the enemy set fire to their planes during takeoff. Air group losses in the gasoline fires were horrible. Six civilians reported to Captain Platt [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Colonel Wesley McCoy Platt was the commander of the Wilkes Island detachment] that they wanted to serve with the Marines. They were assigned to Johnson. The civilians told Johnson they preferred to die fighting with the Marines. Johnson reminded them that they were not there to die but to kill the enemy. Anticipating the Japanese timing for an invasion, Johnson slept only four hours immediately after midnight. He wanted to be manning his gun when the enemy came in. On 11 December, one of the civilians woke Johnson up because he observed many lights offshore. Johnson was pleased to know that the relief for the Marines had arrived. He got on his World War 1 vintage communication equipment and heard Captain Platt talking with Devereux [Annotator's Note: US MArine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux commanded the 1st Defense Battalion on Wake]. The officers assumed the ships to be the enemy not friendly. The Japanese fleet had arrived. The Marines positioned their .30 caliber machine guns behind sandbags in anticipation of the enemy landing in the lagoon. A Japanese destroyer tacked closer and closer to the island. Johnson had one of the civilians bring boxes of hand grenades to their position. Johnson had trained the civilian volunteers on how to use the grenades. Japanese planes bombed Wake every day. One of the bombs hit a civilian construction shed on Wilkes. The shed housed dynamite. It produced a massive explosion after being hit. Johnson was convinced that everyone else around him was wiped out. They were only shook up. The goony birds suffered mightily though. The explosive force did damage the sighting mechanism on one of the five inch guns. The guns were also World War 1 vintage like most of the Marine equipment. The five inch guns had been removed from old four stack destroyers like the ones given to England under Lend-Lease. Lieutenant John McAlister from Mississippi was in charge of the five inch gun battery on Wilkes. The Marines held their fire despite some wanting to fire immediately. After release to commence fire, the first two five inch rounds missed but the third hit and McAlister was urged to rapidly fire his gun on that bearing and range. The destroyer sunk in less than two minutes. Sharks abounded in the area. The Marines were elated by the success. The Japanese defensive ships sailed away leaving the troopships unprotected. The Marine planes mounted 100 pound bombs under their wings and attacked the troopships. Another destroyer was damaged by the pilots. The pilots were heroes to the ground troops, especially "Hammerin' Hank" [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major Henry Talmage "Hammerin' Hank" Elrod]. The enemy withdrew after their ships sank. The islands were still bombed daily from the Japanese held Marcus and Marshall Islands.

John S. Johnson and the Marines on Wake Island continued to be bombed daily by the Japanese after the enemy ships had departed. The first assault attempt by the enemy was repulsed on 11 December [Annotator's Note: 11 December 1941]. The follow-up landings on 23 December were successful. When the Japanese began slaughtering civilian workers on the main island, the Navy commander Cunningham [Annotator's Note: later US Navy Rear Admiral Winfield S. Cunningham] ordered the surrender of the Marine fighting forces. Enemy planes were shot down and damaged over the course of those days before the surrender. The last Marine plane was lost while in combat with two Japanese aircraft. Johnson and his men were exposed on the beach when the Japanese landed on the far side of Wilkes Island. He could distinguish between the sounds of American and Japanese weapons after the landings on the opposite side of his island. His men were on the beach and the enemy was in the woods behind them. It was a chaotic situation as the Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory reference to Japanese] penetrated deeper on the island. By mid-day, Johnson was ordered to relocate nearer another defensive position. The machine guns and weapons were moved to another Marine emplacement. Johnson advanced into the woods and set up his machine gun. When another gun attempted to join him, it drew fire. Johnson moved again. There were three or four leapfrogs. Dead Japanese soldiers were observed. The Marines continued their advance but withdrew shortly after. Captain Platt [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Colonel Wesley McCoy Platt] arrived and the men set up a new defensive perimeter with the two machine guns and riflemen between and outside of them. The American line advanced meeting little opposition. Heavier fighting could be heard across the island. Johnson's group came upon a bombed-out searchlight truck with about 20 Japanese jammed under it. It was a machine gunner's dream. It was then that Johnson saw men around him being killed by enemy fire. He emptied two belts of machine gun bullets into the enemy under the truck and then advanced with his rifle. He noticed that he had been hit in the arm. Two Japanese were captured and taken back to Captain Platt for interrogation. One could barely be moved. Johnson gave a dead man's rifle to a civilian and told him if the severely wounded Japanese tried anything, shoot him. According to Devereux's [Annotator’s Note: US MArine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux commanded the 1st Defense Battalion on Wake] book, all the Japanese on Wilkes Island were either dead or captured. The two captives were treated after reaching Platt. Johnson, meanwhile, continued his advance through the woods. He could not understand why Wake was not firing on the many Japanese ships offshore. It was shortly thereafter that Devereux, accompanied by a platoon of Japanese, reached Johnson and ordered them to surrender. The Marines with Johnson were reluctant to give up their weapons even though their commanding officer had ordered them to do so. Devereux told Captain Platt to make his men lay down their weapons. It was an honorable surrender according to Devereux.

John S. Johnson stood with his hands in the air as the Japanese searched his pockets. He had no water or food for a day before the Marines surrendered Wake Island. He was worried that the enemy admiral who inspected the island would find the many Japanese he had machine gunned under a disabled truck. Two Japanese survivors still existed. A lot of things went through Johnson's mind during that time. He was miserable, tired, hungry and scared. When Devereux [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux commanded the 1st Defense Battalion on Wake Island] told his men that it was an honorable surrender, a weight was lifted from Johnson's shoulders. He had seen the type treatment the Japanese had given their prisoners of war in Manchuria and other places. The men on Wake and Peale Islands thought they were going to be executed. The heroic "Hammerin Hank" Elrod [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major Henry Talmage "Hammerin' Hank" Elrod] received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his aerial victories and his dogged defense using a Thompson submachine gun after the Japanese landed on Wake. Johnson and the men on Wilkes Island were gathered with other American prisoners on the Wake Island airstrip. The island was devastated. He observed a decapitated civilian. It was depressing. The Wilkes Island Marines marched in cadence past their commander, Devereux, and gave him a salutary recognition. Devereux was proud of his men. The men on Wake and Peale were stripped to their undershorts while the Wilkes contingent only had their uniform shirts removed. It was 23 December [Annotator's Note: 23 December 1941]. The sea breezes produced cold air at night so the stripped men huddled together. After a few days of incarceration, the first water and food were finally distributed to the prisoners. The water had gasoline mixed in it, but the men were desperately thirsty. The prisoners of war, POWs, were moved to the surviving civilian barracks. It was a marked improvement from the coral covered airstrip where they had been rounded up. Meals improved. Johnson removed his shoes and saw his feet were infected. He tried to treat the infection by rubbing it with sand. He did manage to get more sleep than previously during combat. Johnson feared for his life when one of the wounded Japanese soldiers he had captured during the fighting spotted him. The soldier brought Johnson to a stack of clothes and gave him warmer clothes because the Marine was destined for colder conditions. Johnson holds no ill will against that particular Japanese. The enemy assault commander at Wilkes Island had wanted to kill all the captured Americans because of his heavy loss in personnel. The Japanese admiral had overruled him. The Emperor had allowed them to live. Not knowing the conditions at Pearl Harbor, the Marines still hoped to be rescued. Johnson went aboard a Hell Ship and sailed for 12 days to Yokohama. [Annotator's Note: Hell Ship is a term used to describe Japanese vessels used for transporting Allied prisoners of war under miserable conditions. These vessels were unmarked and many were sunk by American submarines during the war with significant loss of life.] It was hot at first but grew cold near Japan. Little water and food were provided to the POWs. It was bitter cold when Johnson landed in China on 24 January 1942. The dead were never accounted for so the prisoners were forced to stand for a long duration of multiple counts of the POWs by their captors.

John S. Johnson landed in Wusong, China and marched to his prison camp. It was cold and miserable. The warrant officer in charge of the camp apologized because he had food only for 300 anticipated prisoners, not the 1,500 captives actually sent to him. The food was too spicy for Johnson to eat despite the fact he had not eaten in 12 days. The sleeping quarters were tight and overrun with rats. The next morning, the POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] were lined up and counted. It was the first sun they had seen since leaving Wake Island. The British Commander Polkinghorn [Annotator's Note: British Royal Navy Reserve Lieutenant Stephen Polkinghorn] introduced himself. His ship, the HMS Peterel (P262), was lost with 100 percent casualties near Shanghai. The treatment of the British had been fair up to that point. The warrant officer commanding the camp was replaced by a colonel. Six Allied prisoners including Commander Cunningham [Annotator's Note: later US Navy Rear Admiral Winfield S. Cunningham] tried to escape but were quickly rounded up. Other Marines from North China came into the camp. They were outfitted much better for the cold weather. They had far better experiences at their location than the men of Wake. Four of the North China Marines escaped. The Japanese commander forced the Americans to sign an agreement not to attempt to escape. The commander of the Americans told the men that it was non-binding because it was signed under duress. The British prisoners refused to sign so food was withheld from them. Johnson volunteered to bring them food. Eventually, things leveled off. The former governor general of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, was being fed better than the Americans until he discovered how poorly the food situation was for the Marines. The British leader refused his better quality meals afterward. A limousine pulled up in the camp and the men anticipated an improved meal from the Red Cross. Instead, it was the Swiss representative from Shanghai who had come to call on Sir Mark Young. Young was a rich man. He was shipped to Manchuria where Generals Wainwright and Percival [Annotator's Note: US Army General Jonathan Wainwright and British Army Lieutenant General Arthur Ernest Percival] were being held.

John S. Johnson felt the Japanese guards had a dual personality. They could be almost effeminate or childish. Colonel Usi [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling] was the first Japanese commander of the camp [Annotator's Note: near Wusong, China]. He was killed by some of the escapees. Some of the captured American civilian workers died of malnutrition. They simply could not stomach the poor quality food provided to them. Usi admired the Marine discipline. The Japanese wanted to cremate the dead but the Allied prisoners demanded that they be buried like Christians. Colonel Satoshi Otera nicknamed "Handlebar Hank" allowed better POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] treatment in the barracks. His interpreter, the "Beast of the East," worked people to death from malnutrition. Devereux [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux commanded the 1st Defense Battalion on Wake Island] spoke French with Otera. Some of the POWs tried to be friendly with their guards. Johnson was beaten by a guard once. Some guards were good. They had their fill of the war and did not harass the prisoners. One even spoke fluent English. He had been picked by the Japanese for their army. Because he had been an employee of the British before the war, the Japanese refused to trust him to be more than a non-commissioned officer. Johnson had respect for his own officers in the Marines. Only two disappointed him. Unlike other Marines, Johnson had no ill feelings toward Devereux. He was a mustang officer who had risen through the ranks from being an enlisted man. Captain Platt [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Colonel Wesley McCoy Platt] had the utmost respect by all ranks. He was killed as a colonel in Korea. The men exercised out of boredom during their captivity. They tried to learn new words every day as a distraction. Officers grew gardens but enlisted men were not allowed to do so.

John S. Johnson became disillusioned with some of his battery mates while working the Mount Fuji Project. The "Beast of the East" drove the prisoners to speed up in order to rest in the shade. Major Devereux [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux commanded the 1st Defense Battalion on Wake Island] maintained discipline in the ranks during that time. Cunningham [Annotator's Note: later US Navy Rear Admiral Winfield S. Cunningham] was jealous of the publicity Devereux and his Marines gained for their defense of Wake. Devereux made wise combat decisions in the defense of Wake according what Johnson analyzed. The Mount Fujiyama Project was going to be a memorial to the Japanese who died in China. It turned out to be a rifle range after the Fuji project was completed in 1943. Johnson remained in the prison camp [Annotator’s Note: at Wusong, China] until May 1945. Work projects eased up after Mount Fuji Project. One guard even protected Johnson from swimming in impure water. Johnson would allow that guard to live.

John S. Johnson remained in Camp Kiangwang until May 1945. Their workload eased up and conditions improved as more and more POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] were moved out. The cooly work assigned to Johnson was not too strenuous. Some escapees made it to communist Chinese forces. Bribery could be used to escape. Red Cross packages were received three times a year. Mail came twice a year. Jimmy "Shanghai Jimmy" James [Annotator's Note: Jimmy James "Shanghai Jimmy" Skaliski] got the first real food to the American prisoners. James provided a turkey dinner to the prisoners. They also received a ham dinner from a Christian representative. That was the only good meals the captives received during their incarceration.

John S. Johnson was transported to Fengtai Prison Camp in May 1945. Conditions were miserable there. After a month, he was shipped to Pusan, Korea to another camp. It too was miserable. It rained a lot. In June they were shipped to Japan. Officers and enlisted were separated on Hell Ships. [Annotator's Note: Hell Ship is a term used to describe Japanese vessels used for transporting Allied prisoners of war under miserable conditions. These vessels were unmarked and many were sunk by American submarines during the war with significant loss of life.] No food or water was provided. Captain Platt [Annotator's Note: later US Marine Corps Colonel Wesley McCoy Platt] stood up for his men on the ships. Platt was later executed. Nationals from Japan were being shipped back to the homeland. Moved in boxcars, the POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] could see area destruction. They reached Yokohama on 2 July as citizens threw rocks at them. A flight of B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] dropped incendiary bombs on the cities. Aircraft from American carriers would hunt targets of opportunity at low altitude. The POWs headed north. They were given Japanese rations which consisted of grasshoppers and rice. Work got much worse with 12 hour shifts in coal mines. Johnson was claustrophobic. Escape was being considered because the harsh winter was coming. Conditions were deplorable. The cold in the winter was extreme on Hokkaido. Johnson could not have figured a way to escape. On 14 August they were not sent to the coal mines. City lights were lit at night. Some men escaped over the wooden camp fence. They were recaptured and put in the stockade. A day or two later, a truck came in with a Japanese colonel with an understandable interpreter. He announced the end of the war due to the atomic bomb and the Emperors decision to now be friends.

American paratroopers arrived at John S. Johnson's prison camp to tell the prisoners to stay put until they could be supplied and then escorted out of the prison. A radio was left for communications. B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] dropped supplies to the prisoners. Three men were killed when supplies landed on them. Dive bombers dropped more supplies to the camp. There was plenty of food for the 80 men in the camp. American cooks were put in the mess hall. The former prisoners strolled through the town. They interacted with the locals and tried to find things to do. The soldiers were briefed on how to invest their saved money by a former Marine POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] who had been an Austrian soldier during World War 1. Johnson and others had intentions of staying in Japan to find the people who had abused them in their incarceration. Devereux [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux commanded the 1st Defense Battalion on Wake Island before it fell in December 1941] had commandeered a motorcycle with a sidecar. The officer was checking on his men in various former POW camps. Johnson had conflicted feelings about escaping death. He thought originally that he would die in combat and then due to starvation as a POW. After liberation, food was plentiful and the local population was subservient. A scary incident occurred when he flew to Yokohama for debriefing. He flew in a two-engine transport with seats along the sides of the plane. The pilot dressed like a civilian except his ballcap had a lieutenant's bar. After takeoff, the plane ditched and the men were rescued by British and American ships. When the crew of the ships learned that the passengers were former POWs, they gave them the best treatment. Johnson was introduced to radar and Frank Sinatra on the ship. The ship had to avoid a mine. The marksmen on the ship destroyed the mine. The ship had been damaged at Okinawa but repaired in time to return for the end of the war. The galley made Johnson a fine breakfast of pancakes, fried chicken and eggs. He managed to sleep on a real bunk for the first time since he was sent to Wake Island. Then it was on to Yokohama.

Following POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] debriefing in Yokohama, Japan, John S. Johnson boarded a medical ship for transfer to a hospital on Guam. Navy and Marine Corps former prisoners of war were sent to Guam. Air Forces, Army, and foreign troops who were liberated POWs went to Manila for debriefing before returning home. On Guam, Johnson met a former artillery officer who was his friend. Entertainment and beer were available on the island. Johnson flew from Guam in a four-engine transport. He was confident of the pilots on the aircraft. The plane briefly stayed in the Marshall Islands while en route to Pearl Harbor. At Pearl, he had a 24 layover before heading stateside. While in Hawaii, Johnson had an enjoyable meal of chicken and pineapple that he remembered having prior to deployment to Wake Island. An officer tried to catch a seat on Johnson's flight home but was refused passage in deference to the priority afforded the former POWs to get home. Johnson landed in Oakland and spent a week there. He received an emergency payment of 500 dollars. In Oakland, Johnson picked a hospital close to his home. He selected Millington, Tennessee, right outside of Memphis, because it was in the South. His flight out from California had to return due to weather. The flight was later prioritized to get him on the move eastward. When he reached Millington, no one knew what to do with the former POWs. He met female nurses for the first time. The men were put in a "WAVES Cave" or WAVES [Annotator's Note: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, the Navy's Women's Reserve] barracks. From there, Johnson was eventually released from the hospital and returned home. His family time was brief because of his notoriety. He joined a bond drive with Devereux [Annotator’s Note: US Marine Corps Major James P.S. Devereux had been Johnson's commanding officer on Wake Island] and Bull Halsey [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey]. He also had speaking engagements which kept him busy. Many of his friends were still in the service. Johnson was discharged as a crippled gunnery sergeant.

John S. Johnson stayed alive during captivity because of his faith and his family. While on Wake Island before the Japanese attack, Johnson envied the food provided to the civilian workers on the island. During captivity, there were few of the civilians in the camps with him. He viewed the civilians on Wake as being draft dodgers. They were fed very well compared to the Marines. Johnson returned to Wake Island after the war. People stood in awe of him. His position during the battle had been converted into a bird sanctuary. His first time on the island was from August 1941 to January 1942. The Japanese had done some foolish things during the battle such as bunching up under a truck. [Annotator's Note: Johnson turned his machine gun on those 20 or 30 Japanese killing all but two of them.] Johnson returned to the island and met another prisoner who was not assigned to a Hell Ship after capture. [Annotator's Note: Hell Ship is a term used to describe Japanese vessels used for transporting Allied prisoners of war under miserable conditions. These vessels were unmarked and many were sunk by American submarines during the war with significant loss of life.] The other prisoner was treated much better than Johnson was in his passage from Wake to China. When Johnson joined a former POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] reunion group, it was obvious to him that Germany treated their prisoners much better than Japan. The prisoners from the Philippines and the Bataan Death March had it worst of all. In 1943, Johnson had his most difficult year. He had dysentery and malaria during that time. The camp in Northern Japan on Hokkaido was a terrible place to survive because of the lack of food and the heavy work program imposed by the guards. The weather would have been terrible if the war had not ended in August [Annotator's Note: August 1945]. Despite all the hardships, not many former POWs suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. The doctors may not have diagnosed the cases that existed. Family seemed to take care of the returning troops.

John S. Johnson was provided with the opportunity of securing a higher education through the G.I. Bill as a result of his service in the Marine Corps. He attended university using the Bill. He considered working in advertising but did not like the travel. He worked for Sears Roebuck for years. Its military organizational structure was something that Johnson looked at favorably. It was a model of product distribution due to the leadership put in place by management. He met a lot of good people while with Sears. Johnson is proud of his children and grandchildren. His children are well employed and educated.

John S. Johnson thought World War 2 brought Americans together. It was pure good against pure evil. Unit 731 was a Japanese organization in Manchuria that carried out brutal experiments. The Japanese as well as Germany under Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler and Italy led by Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini] were evil. The war had to be won and men and women in the United States joined together to achieve victory. The State Department has made mistakes over the years. The Marines in Lebanon had not been issued ammunition for defense. Another incident involved the State Department refusing the Navy Department tapping the Japanese Embassy telephones despite the Embassy's telephone messages ramping up dramatically prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Support of Chiang Kai-Shek was another mistake. He wanted to rule the country by force and have the United States pay for it. The State Department often makes decisions before consulting the military. After the war, State Department personnel were replaced by military personnel in many countries because of their inability to relate to the people they were negotiating with. America could take a hint from the way Britain trains its representatives for the countries in which they will serve.

John S. Johnson has positive feelings toward the Japanese only on a selective basis. The National WWII Museum, as well as, any institution that promotes a better understanding of history is a worthwhile organization. To more fully understand war will assist in a greater potential of avoidance of future conflicts. The loss of life in World War 2 was massive. That was particularly true of the Russian population. Russia lost significant people and territory in World War 1. During the defense of Wake Island, the Marines were cognizant of the sacrifice they were being asked to make. The chance of rescue from the Japanese onslaught was minimal. The battle for the island only lasted 16 days and yet Johnson personally witnessed several critical enemy mistakes. The Wake Island defense was highlighted in the United States in order to divert attention from the disaster at Pearl Harbor. Johnson did not receive confirmation about Pearl Harbor in prison camp until he heard the reports from downed pilots who were imprisoned with him. Other than a Japanese submarine firing on the West Coast, the United States had no damage to any of its production factories. It could mobilize its resources better than England under continuous German bombardment. The United States needs to continue to improve its defense posture. It is a necessary evil to be the policeman of the world. Mistakes were made in Vietnam with the American withdrawal. Johnson outlines his positions on current world affairs and prospects for the future. Things are not as secure for our country today as they had been in previous generations. Johnson has great hopes for his grandchildren and the country's future.

John S. Johnson reveals his thoughts on American POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] during the Korean War who renounced their citizenship. Many of the young Americans were brainwashed by Chinese intellectuals who coaxed the prisoners into believing they were being treated well in prison camp. Little by little the interrogator broke down the American system of support amongst the captives. The Turkish captives managed to survive capture because of their improved system of self-support between fellow prisoners. Johnson discusses his return flight to Wake Island. He elaborates on his return flight from Guam to Pearl Harbor at the end of the war. Johnson continues to enjoy his life whether he has a short or long time to live. He is treated with dignity and respect as a former prisoner of war.