HONORED ON PANEL 42W, LINE 32 OF THE WALL
JOHN LAFAYETTE JOHNSON
WALL NAME
JOHN L JOHNSON
PANEL / LINE
42W/32
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR JOHN LAFAYETTE JOHNSON
POSTED ON 1.8.2023
POSTED BY: John Fabris
honoring you...
Remember to save for them a place inside of you, and save one backward glance when you are leaving, for the places they can no longer go...
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POSTED ON 5.24.2020
POSTED BY: Michael A McCutcheon
My Good Friend
John, I said goodbye to you at the air terminal at Guam just before you boarded that faithful flight. We never got to meet later as planned. I have never forgotten you.
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POSTED ON 10.9.2019
POSTED BY: Dennis Wriston
I'm proud of our Vietnam Veterans
Sergeant John Lafayette Johnson, Served with the 509th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command (SAC).
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POSTED ON 9.29.2019
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik
Thank You
Dear Sgt John Johnson, Thank you for your service with the 509th Bomber Wing. Your 52nd anniversary just passed, sad. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. The time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.
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POSTED ON 2.22.2018
POSTED BY: [email protected]
Air Loss - Fixed-Wing
On September 24, 1968, a USAF Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker (#55-3133) from the 902nd Refueling Squadron was flying from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to Honolulu’s Hickman Air Force Base when it encountered engine problems and diverted to Wake Island, a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean, where it crashed after skipping off the water. Eleven of 56 airmen aboard were killed, and another 23 were injured, 14 seriously. The landing gear on the tanker was still retracted when FAA tower observers at Wake saw the plane hit the Pacific waters just short of the 9,000-foot runway, then skip onto the atoll’s runway which is 10 feet above sea level. The Stratotanker skidded wheels up over a mile, its wings and tail assembly breaking off before bursting into flames after striking Instrument Landing System aerials. Rescue workers quickly arrived on scene and were credited for saving many lives. They foamed the plane, opened emergency exits, and pulled the airmen out. All the passengers that were killed were in the tail section of the fuselage. They included SGT Alfred I. Brooks, SGT Arthur B. Crews, A1C Paul D. Grosick, A1C Richard L. Halgren, SGT Carl V. Hansen, SGT John L. Johnson, TSGT Gene A. Lauer, A1C Allan S. Major, A1C Kenneth W. Shook, A1C Larry E. Wright, and SSGT John M. Quigley. The eleven lost airmen had their names added to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in May 1986. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, aviation-safety.net, “Voices from an Old Warrior: Why KC-135 Safety Matters” by Christopher J.B. Hoctor, and “11 of 56 GIs Killed In AF Tanker Crash.” Syracuse Post Standard (Syracuse, NY), September 25, 1969]
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