ROBERT H. G. JOHNSON, LT, USN

Robert Johnson '24

Date of birth: December 13, 1900

Date of death: January 22, 1945

Age: 44

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

ROBERT HENRY GLASS JOHNSON

Lynchburg, Virginia

"Bob"

WHO is it? Why, Johnson, of course! No, not that one, the one who ——— yes, certainly, week-ends and all that! He's a faithful friend to Mr. Volstead and is de Maupassant's only rival. Did you ever hear the one about the countess in Christiania ———Yah?"

"Bob" entered the Naval Academy with twenty-three, but—not being unusually studious—he spent two years as a Plebe, becoming a confirmed member of twenty-four.

Johnson is always prepared to amuse "the boys" with his ready wit and though his jokes may occasionally be slightly "off color", he is frequently quite entertaining. "Oh, sir, have you saw my sheeps?" By the way, do you remember the time that—er, material fell onto the window ledge of the first deck—do you remember the events immediately following? There you have Johnson at his best.

ROBERT HENRY GLASS JOHNSON

Lynchburg, Virginia

"Bob"

WHO is it? Why, Johnson, of course! No, not that one, the one who ——— yes, certainly, week-ends and all that! He's a faithful friend to Mr. Volstead and is de Maupassant's only rival. Did you ever hear the one about the countess in Christiania ———Yah?"

"Bob" entered the Naval Academy with twenty-three, but—not being unusually studious—he spent two years as a Plebe, becoming a confirmed member of twenty-four.

Johnson is always prepared to amuse "the boys" with his ready wit and though his jokes may occasionally be slightly "off color", he is frequently quite entertaining. "Oh, sir, have you saw my sheeps?" By the way, do you remember the time that—er, material fell onto the window ledge of the first deck—do you remember the events immediately following? There you have Johnson at his best.

Loss

Robert was lost on approximately January 22, 1945 when he died aboard the Japanese "hell ship" Brazil Maru as a prisoner of war.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Robert attended Episcopal High School at Alexandria, Virginia. He was appointed to the Naval Academy by his uncle, Senator Carter Glass.
Robert married Caroline Belden Huling on November 15, 1924, in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. In 1930, Robert’s wife and daughter Eleanor lived in New London, Connecticut.
On August 4, 1939, Robert, his wife, daughter Eleanor and son Robert, Jr., left San Francisco on the liner President Cleveland bound for Manila. Also on board were Lt. Cmdr. Lawrence Divoll ('21,) Lt. Raymond L. Mayo ('30) (to USS Marblehead,) Lt. Louis D. McGregor, Jr. ('30) (to USS Canopus,) Lt. Thomas C. Parker ('25) (to USS Asheville,) Lt. Walter E. Linaweaver ('26) (to USS Augusta,) Lt. Willard C. Johnson, and Ensign Louis J. Gulliver ('36) (to USS Augusta.)
In July 1941, Robert’s wife and children were evacuated by Army transport from Manila with other wives of U. S. Navy men and returned to the United States. They then lived with relatives in New Jersey and Scarsdale, New York.
On June 19, 1945, Robert and Caroline’s daughter Eleanor Belden married Ensign Lyle Ashton Cox (‘45) in the Navy Yard chapel, Bremerton, Washington. On July 3, 1954, their son Robert, Jr., a first lieutenant, married in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Robert’s father was Fontaine Dickenson Johnson, Jr. who married Louise Augusta Glass on November 16, 1899. Robert’s sister was Louise. His grandfather had a jewelry store, Fontaine D. & Son, in Lynchburg.

From Find A Grave:

Lt. Robert Johnson was held as a POW in the Philippine Islands. In December 1944, he was boarded onto the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. The ship sailed on December 13th and came under attack from American planes on December 14th. As evening approached, the attack was called off. The next day the planes returned and continued the attack. When the pilots saw the large number of men climbing from the ship’s holds, they realized the ship was carrying POWs and called off the attack. After the POWs were off the ship, the attack resumed and the ship was sunk by American planes at Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, on December 15, 1944. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Enoura Maru which sailed on December 27th and reached Takao, Formosa, by the New Year. While docked it was bombed by American planes on January 9, 1945, killing many of the POWs. On January 12th, the dead were removed from the ship’s holds and buried in a mass grave on Formosa. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Brazil Maru which sailed on January 13th. Johnson died on the ship before it reached Japan on January 29, 1945. His body was thrown into the sea.

Unclear on exactly what his billet was in the Philippines prior to the war; he is listed only as assigned to the 16th Naval District. Also unclear on why he was not promoted while in captivity. The Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1945 lists him as the fourth-most senior Lieutenant in the Navy.

His wife was listed as next of kin.

Silver Star

From Hall of Valor:

(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Lieutenant Robert Henry Glass Johnson (NSN: 0-58906), United States Navy, was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in connection with military operations against the enemy as Evacuation Officer during the evacuation of Cebu Island in April 1942. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.
Service: Navy
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 348 (March 1946)

Prisoner of War Medal

From Hall of Valor:

Lieutenant Robert H. G. Johnson (NSN: 0-58906), United States Navy, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor, Philippine Islands, on 6 May 1942, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his death while still in captivity.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.