Leon Johnson was a United States Air Force general who was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading the attack on the Ploesti oil fields during World War II.
Background
Johnson was born in Columbia, Missouri, on 13 September 1904. He had an older brother, a younger brother, and a sister. In 1919, the family moved to Moline, Kansas, where he went to high school. He played on the high school football team as a halfback, and was vice president of his senior class. After graduation, he worked in the family's bank.
Education
Johnson entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, on 1 July 1922, and graduated 60th out of 152 graduates in the class of 1926 on 12 June 1926. In his final year , he was the First Sergeant of Company C. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry on 12 June 1926, and was posted to the 17th Infantry at Fort Crook, Nebraska, on 12 September 1926. He volunteered for service in United States Army Air Corps, and on 1 March 1929 he reported to the Air Corps Primary Flying School at Brooks Field, Texas, as a student officer.
Career
Following graduation (1926) from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., he served in the infantry before transferring in 1930 to the Army Air Corps. In January 1943 he became commander of the 44th Bomb Group, and later that year his unit was part of a larger crew of B-24 bombers that took off from North Africa on a mission that was to take them some 3,860 km (2,400 mi) to the strategically significant Romanian oil fields and back.
En route, however, while flying in difficult conditions, Johnson’s group became separated from the others. He later reestablished contact, but when he arrived at Ploesti, he found that the oil fields were damaged and in flames, having already been struck by an earlier wave of bombers. Although their target was readied, they faced decreased visibility, owing to smoke, and the risk of explosions; he led his team of bombers in low, however, and destroyed the target. Johnson’s plane was the only one from his squad to survive the mission. He continued to serve in combat until the end of the war and received a number of other commendations during a military career that spanned some four decades.
Connections
He married Lucille Taylor before completion of flight training. They had two daughters, Sue and Sarah. He was next sent to Kelly Field, Texas, for further training with the Observation Section from 15 October 1929 to 28 February 1930.