Johnson, Everett R.

EVERETT ROBERT JOHNSON

PRIVATE
U.S. ARMY

Everett Johnson, son of Oliver Thaddeus Johnson and Della T Everett, was born in Washington Township, Adams County, Indiana on the fourteenth of June in 1914. He lived in Washington Township with his parents, a sister, and a half brother. Since he was able, he worked on a farm while going to school. He attended Decatur High School and participated in the Glee Club until his sophomore year of high school when he dropped out to work solely on the farm. Everett was quite active in the community, having served as superintendent for Sunday School at the First United Brethren Church, president of the Adams County Farm Bureau, and was a salesman for an insulation company prior to his induction.

Everett was inducted into the Army on October 5th 1942 and reported for service on the 19th of the same month. Johnson would achieve the rank of Private in the Army and was assigned to the 355th Engineer General Service Regiment. The Engineer Regiment was responsible for rebuilding roads, bridges, and railways destroyed by the war. Others in their unit worked to string pipelines and clear mine fields. 

In preparations for overseas deployment, Private Johnson drowned on December 4, 1942 while participating in assault boat maneuvers at Camp White in Oregon. During a training exercise, he fell from a landing barge into the Rogue River. His remains were recovered nearly seven months later and were returned by train to Decatur with a military escort. A service was held A memorial located at the Decatur Cemetery commemorates his life. 

After his death, his unit went on to contribute to the war effort. His unit was activated at Camp Gruber in Oklahoma on June 20th 1942. They staged at Fort Dix in New Jersey until departing from the New York Port of Embarkation on the 2nd of April in 1943 and arrived at Oran, North Africa on the 13th of April. Following the Allied invasion of Southern France, the unit landed at St. Tropez on August 23 1944. They also entered Mannheim, Germany on the 6th of April of 1945. Finally, they returned to the US on March 16th 1946 and was inactivated the following day. The 335th regiment is credited with the following campaigns: Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. 

For his service and sacrifice, Private Johnson earned the American Theatre Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. 

Information researched and collected by Jenna Fenwick (2015), Alexis Wright (2024). 

SOURCES

American Legion Post No468, and Berne & Community Business Men, comps. Service Record:World War I and II - Book of Men and Women of Berne, Indiana and Community.Marceline: Walsworth Brothers, n.d. Print.

"Everett Robert Johnson." Ancestry Classroom, www.ancestryclassroom.com/. Accessed 19 Dec. 2023.

"Everett Robert Johnson." Find a Grave, 28 Sept. 2009, www.findagrave.com/memorial/42492275/everett-robert-johnson. Accessed 19 Dec. 2023.

Indiana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.

"Johnson, Everett R." Fold3, www.fold3.com/record/701737739/johnson-everett-r-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954. Accessed 19 Dec. 2023.

"Military History/Fathers Unit-WWII." Military History: Fathers Unit-WWII, 69th Infantry Division, Camp Gruber Oklahoma. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. http://en.allexperts.com/q/Military-History-669/2010/2/Fathers-Unit-WWII.htm.

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