Leroy Johnson (December 6, 1919 – December 15, 1944) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

, for his actions in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Camp Leroy Johnson Camp Leroy Johnson in New Orleans, Louisiana, was located on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain in the area bounded west by Franklin Avenue, and east by Inner Harbor Navigation Canal. The camp was opened in 1942 as the New Orleans Army Air Base. ...

in New Orleans, LA, was renamed after him in 1947.

Biography

Johnson joined the Army from

Oakdale, Louisiana Oakdale is a city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, Allen Parish in south Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,780 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn. The history of All ...

on November 26, 1941War Department Bureau of Public Relations SIS release C-397 and was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division. On April 6, 1943, Sgt. Johnson was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action against entrenched Japanese at Senananda. By December 15, 1944, he was serving as a Sergeant in Company K, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division during the

Battle of Leyte A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. On that day, near Limon, Leyte, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, he smothered the blast of two enemy-thrown grenades with his body, sacrificing himself to protect those around him. For this action, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor ten months later, on October 2, 1945. Johnson was buried at the

Manila American Cemetery The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, within the boundaries of the former Fort William McKinley. It can be reached most easily from the city via EDSA to McKinley Road, then to McKinle ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, the Philippines. A bronze memorial plaque in his honor was mounted on the wall of the

Allen Parish Allen Parish (french: Paroisse d'Allen) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,764. The parish seat is Oberlin and the largest city is Oakdale. Allen Parish is in southwestern Louisia ...

courthouse in Oberlin, Louisiana, a few miles south of his native Oakdale.

Medal of Honor citation

Sergeant Johnson's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

References

: * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Leroy 1920 births 1944 deaths People from Evangeline Parish, Louisiana Military personnel from Louisiana United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers Recipients of the Silver Star World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at the Manila American Cemetery People from Allen Parish, Louisiana

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links