IN MEMORY HONOR ROLL

Staff Sergeant Roger T. Johnson was born November 1, 1941. He joined the Air Force in 1964 and trained at Lackland, Greenville, and Maxwell Gunter Air Force Bases. On July 24, 1965, Roger married Marian Jane Carlson. In February 1966, Roger deployed to Cam Rahn Bay, Vietnam. He was trained as a medic and dental assistant visiting surrounding villages to provide care for women and children, giving vaccines and providing other medical care; the villagers looked forward to these weekly visits. They traveled by truck to a river in the jungle where they would ride in small wooden boats to the village. They were not allowed to take weapons on these trips. In February of 1967, Roger was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. While there, he earned his Staff Sergeant stripes and was named “Airman of the Month”. In 1968, Roger and Marian returned to the family farm near rural Red Oak, Iowa where they were blessed with 3 children and 8 grandchildren. Roger was a longtime member of VFW, serving in many positions. He served as Commander at the local level and was District Commander. He was also instrumental in starting the Veterans Memorial Museum in Shenandoah, Iowa. Roger’s health began failing in 2014. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia from Agent Orange exposure as well as PTSD related to his time in Vietnam. Roger passed away on March 7, 2021.