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Johnson, Harold Keith (24th Army CofS), GEN USA(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Bowesmont
Last Address Washington, D.C.
Date of Passing Sep 24, 1983
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Harold K. Johnson, Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commanding Officer of the 3d Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment (Infantry), 1st Cavalry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Johnson distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Tabu-dong, Korea, on 4 September 1950. When his battalion had been forced to withdraw from their hill position by a series of fierce attacks by an overwhelming number of the enemy, Colonel Johnson immediately directed a counterattack in an attempt to regain the vitally important dominating terrain. Placing himself with the most forward elements in order to more effectively direct and coordinate the attack, Colonel Johnson rallied his men and led them forward. Moving about exposed to the heavy enemy artillery, mortar and small-arms fire, he directed fire, assigned positions and, by personal example, proved the necessary incentive to stimulate and keep the attack moving. When his battalion began to falter due to the devastating enemy fire, Colonel Johnson moved forward to close proximity of the enemy to establish and personally operate a forward observation post. Remaining in this exposed position, he directed effective mortar counter fire against the enemy. When his mortars became inoperable and his casualties very heavy due to the tremendous firepower and numerically superior enemy forces, he realized the necessity for withdrawal. Remaining in the position until the last unit had withdrawn, he directed the salvaging of both weapons and equipment. Reestablishing a new defensive position, he reorganized his battalion and supervised medical attention and evacuation of the wounded. His conspicuous devotion to duty and selfless conduct under enemy fire provided an inspiring example to his men and prevented a serious penetration of friendly lines.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 52 (February 2, 1951)
US Army General. A combat veteran of World War II and the Korean War, he rose in rank to become the 24th US Army Chief of Staff. Born Harold Keith Johnson, after completing high school in 1929, he received an appointment to attend the US Military Academy at West Point, New York and graduated in June 1933 with a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the Infantry. He then served in several stateside infantry regiments along with attending the US Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia until 1940, when he was sent to the Philippines and assigned to the 57th Infantry at Fort McKinley. After the US declared war on Japan in December 1941, the Japanese invaded the Philippines and he was one of the American soldiers who surrendered at Bataan in April 1942 and was subject to brutality of the Japanese soldiers during the Bataan Death March. He remained a prisoner-of-war in the Philippines until December 1944 when he was transferred to Japan. During the journey, the ship that transported him was sunk by American fighter aircraft and he managed to survive. He eventually ended up in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Korea where he was liberated in September 1945 by the US Army's 7th Division. After returning to the US, he attended the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in August 1946 and remained there as an instructor for two years. In 1949 he attended the Armed (now Joint) Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia and was then assigned to Fort Devens, Massachusetts as Commanding Officer for the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry and while there, he organized the 1st Provincial Infantry Battalion. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he was sent to Korea with his new unit and saw combat action in the defense of the Pusan Perimeter and was promoted to the rank of colonel. Following a short tour as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, 1st Corps in Japan, he returned to the US and served in the Office of the Chief of Army Field Forces at Fort Monroe, Virginia. In 1952 he attended the National War College at Fort McNair, Virginia and was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations in Washington DC. In 1956 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and became the Assistant Commander of the 8th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado and moved with them to Germany. In 1957 he was promoted to the rank of major general became Chief of Staff for 7th Army Headquarters at Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany and two years later he was assigned to Headquarters US Army Europe as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations. In December 1959 he became the Chief of Staff, Central Army Group at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. In 1960 he returned to the US and became Commandant of the US Army Command and General Staff College. In February 1963 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and became the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff (and later the Deputy Chief of Staff) for Military Operations at Headquarters US Army in Washington DC. In July 1964 he was promoted to the rank of general and was appointed US Army Chief of Staff. While in this position, he helped to create the office of the Sergeant Major of the Army as a way to improve the quality of life for enlisted soldiers. In 1967 he served briefly as acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff while General Earle Wheeler was on medical leave. In July 1968 he retired with 35 years of continuous military service. Among his military and foreign decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), the Legion of Merit (with three oak leaf clusters), the Bronze Star, the Army Presidential Unit Citation (with two oak leaf clusters), the Prisoner of War Medal, the American Defense Service Medal (with one bronze service star), the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with four service stars), the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), the Korean Service Medal (with six campaign stars), the Republic of Korea Order of National Security Merit Medal, the Philippine Defense Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal (with star), the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and the United Nations Service Medal (Korea). After his military retirement, he led the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania for three years and the worked as a banking executive. He died at the age of 71. He was the subject of the biography "Honorable Warrior: General Harold K. Johnson and the Ethics of Command" (1998) by Lewis Sorley.
General Johnson was born in Bowesmont, Pembina County, North Dakota in 1912. He came from a poor but close family and his early life was one of hard work and study. General Johnson joined the Boy Scouts as a youth and supported Scouting activities all his life. As Chief of Staff, he kept a Bible and a copy of the Boy Scout handbook on his desk. He often quoted the Scout oath in speeches, "On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country".
Johnson was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1933, he graduated 232nd in a class of 347 and was not expected to have a promising career. During World War II, he fought the Japanese as an officer in the Philippine Scouts' 57th Infantry Regiment during the Battle of Bataan, and survived the Bataan Death March, spending three years in captivity. Johnson also served in the Korean War, during which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest medal for bravery.
Chief of Staff
In 1964, General Johnson became the 24th Chief of Staff of the United States Army, having been unexpectedly promoted over several more senior generals. Johnson was the Army's leading tactician, having served as commandant of the Command and General Staff College, and was an outspoken skeptic of deploying troops except as a last resort and accompanied by the total commitment of the civilian leadership.
During his term as Chief of Staff, he was involved in many policy debates regarding the escalation of the Vietnam War. He was a strong proponent of full military mobilization: declare a national emergency, call up the reserves, fight a quick and decisive war, and withdraw. He considered resigning in protest over President Lyndon B. Johnson's decision not to mobilize the reserves, and at the end of his life expressed regret at not doing so.
As Chief of Staff, one of Johnson's noteworthy accomplishments was creating the office of the Sergeant Major of the Army to improve the quality of life for enlisted personnel. He selected Sergeant Major William O. Wooldridge to be the first to hold this post. Johnson also served as acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for a few months in 1967 during the convalescence of General Earle Wheeler. He retired from the Army in 1968.
Johnson married Dorothy Rennix in 1935. He was the subject of a biography, Honorable Warrior, by Lewis Sorley. He died September 24, 1983, in Washington, D.C..
Quotes
"If you want it, you can't get it. If you can get it, it can't find you. If it can find you, it can't identify the target. If it can identify the target, it can't hit it. But if it does hit the target, it doesn't do a great deal of damage anyway." - On Combat Air Support in the Korean War
Description The Battle of Pakchon (5 November 1950), also known as the Battle of Bochuan, took place ten days after the start of the Chinese First Phase Offensive, following the entry of the People's Volunteer Army into the Korean War. The offensive reversed the United Nations (UN) advance towards the Yalu River which had occurred after their intervention in the wake of the North Korean invasion of South Korea at the start of the war. The battle was fought between British and Australian forces from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade with American armour and artillery in support, and the Chinese 117th Division, around the village of Pakchon on the Taeryong River.
After capturing Chongju on 30 October the British and Australians had been ordered to pull back to Pakchon in an attempt to consolidate the western flank of the US Eighth Army. Meanwhile, immediately following their success at Unsan against the Americans, the Chinese 117th Division of the 39th Army had attacked southward, intending to cut off the UN forces as they withdrew in the face of the unexpected Chinese assault. To halt the Chinese advance, the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade was ordered to defend the lower crossings of the Taeryong and Chongchon rivers as part of a rearguard, in conjunction with the US 24th Infantry Division further upstream on the right.
During the night of 4/5 November, the Chinese and North Koreans mounted a full-scale assault on the US 24th Infantry Division, pushing back an American infantry regiment nearly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). The Chinese force subsequently turned west, advancing between the Taeryong and Chongchon rivers and threatening the rear of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade by cutting the Pakchon–Sinanju road.
The following day they attacked an American artillery battery which was guarding a vital concrete bridge near Kujin. The British and Australians then successfully counter-attacked the Chinese forces occupying a number of nearby ridgelines during the day but were in turn counter-attacked before being pushed off the high ground during the night. In their first battle with the Chinese, the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) captured a well defended hill with only limited offensive support, and held it in the face of heavy counter-attacks before confused command decisions resulted in a disorganised night withdrawal while still in contact.
The withdrawal threatened to open the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade's left flank and the Australians were ordered to immediately reposition on the ridge, yet ultimately it was too late to regain the feature in darkness. However, following heavy fighting the pressure on the Australians unexpectedly ceased after midnight, and parties of Chinese were observed beginning to withdraw. By early morning the Chinese attack had been checked and 3 RAR had redeployed to new positions in the paddy fields around the railway crossing north of Maenjung-dong.
The fighting was costly for both sides. Although the Australians halted the advancing Chinese 117th Division and inflicted numerous casualties on them, they also suffered heavy losses. In the aftermath the inexperienced Australian battalion commander—Lieutenant Colonel Floyd Walsh—was relieved of his position by the British brigade commander, having taken over just six days earlier following the death of the previous commanding officer at Chongju.
Nonetheless, the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade succeeded in preventing a Chinese break-through at Pakchon, keeping open vital withdrawal routes across the river and securing the UN left flank. Suffering significant casualties, the Chinese offensive was halted the next day due to logistic difficulties. The Chinese and North Koreans were temporarily forced to withdraw north, while the UN successfully reinforced its positions, holding on the Chongchon Line.
Yet by late November the US Eighth Army was again forced to withdraw after the Chinese began their Second Phase Offensive, starting a long retreat south. The UN forces were expelled from North Korea, and withdrew to the 38th Parallel where they sought to re-establish defensive positions.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1950
To Month/Year
November / 1950
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories The 1st Cav Div, with the attached Bristish 27 Brigade "leading" was moving north. Unbeknownst to Lt Col Johnson, the Brits stopped for tea, putting Johnson's unit in the lead, much to the chagrin of the British Brigadier. Despite these distractions, the 1st Cav Div reached Pyongyang by 18-19 October 1950.
