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positions. He either killed or wounded 4 of them. A burst of machinegun fire tore into Pvt. Johnson and he dropped to his knees. Fighting to the very last, he steadied himself on his knees and sent a final burst of fire crashing into another German. With that he slumped forward dead. Pvt. Johnson had willingly given his life in order that his comrades might live. These acts on the part of Pvt. Johnson were an inspiration to the entire command and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed forces.
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from the hip, he succeeded in distracting the enemy and enabled his 12 comrades to escape. Advancing to within 5 yards of a machinegun, emptying his weapon, Pvt. Johnson killed its crew. Standing in full view of the enemy he reloaded and turned on the riflemen to the left, firing directly into their
188:, Italy, he deliberately drew the hostile German fire onto himself so that his comrades could escape. He succeeded in destroying a German machine gun position before he was killed. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor a year later, on May 16, 1945.
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For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Pvt. Johnson elected to sacrifice his life in order that his comrades might extricate themselves from an ambush. Braving the massed fire of about 60 riflemen, 3 machineguns, and 3
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which supported two brigades of the 1st
Armored Division and one brigade of the 2nd AD. It also contained warehouses and other facilities for various supply elements from William O. Darby Barracks.
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An elementary school in
Weymouth, Massachusetts, now housing the Johnson Early Childhood Center, was named in his honor and prominently displays a copy of his Medal of Honor citation.
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342:, July 7, 2009. Accessed July 23, 2014. "Elden H. Johnson, born in Bivalve, has been recognized by Commercial Township for his service in World War II."
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from positions only 25 yards distant, he stood erect and signaled his patrol leader to withdraw. The whole area was brightly illuminated by enemy
153:(February 13, 1921 – June 3, 1944) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the
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In 1949 the former German "Panzerkaserne" at Fuerth/Germany was renamed to
Johnson Barracks. From the 1970s Johnson Barracks was home of the
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334:"Help solve a Cumberland County history mystery: Where is Civil War Medal of Honor recipient John Davis buried?"
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which operated in the
Pacific Ocean at the end of World War II was named in his honor.
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Johnson, aged 23 at his death, was buried in Union
Cemetery,
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Private
Johnson's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
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in April 1943, and by June 3, 1944, was serving as a
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United States Army personnel killed in World War II
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296:List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
387:"Medal of Honor recipients - World War II (G–L)"
458:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
395:United States Army Center of Military History
318:United States Army Center of Military History
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438:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
443:People from Commercial Township, New Jersey
160:Johnson was born in the Bivalve section of
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364:"About Us | Weymouth Public Schools"
463:People from Scituate, Massachusetts
448:People from Weymouth, Massachusetts
316:from websites or documents of the
157:—for his actions in World War II.
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291:List of Medal of Honor recipients
312: This article incorporates
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162:Commercial Township, New Jersey
397:. June 8, 2009. Archived from
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339:The News of Cumberland County
352:WWII Army Enlistment Records
238:The United States Army ship
166:East Weymouth, Massachusetts
453:United States Army soldiers
16:US Army soldier (1921–1944)
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164:. He joined the Army from
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391:Medal of Honor citations
261:Honored in school naming
242:Private Elden H. Johnson
81:United States of America
368:www.weymouthschools.org
255:16th Engineer Battalion
199:Medal of Honor citation
193:Scituate, Massachusetts
71:Scituate, Massachusetts
314:public domain material
234:Honored in ship naming
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174:15th Infantry Regiment
118:15th Infantry Regiment
54:June 3, 1944 (aged 23)
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178:3rd Infantry Division
122:3rd Infantry Division
96:Years of service
180:. When his unit was
151:Elden Harvey Johnson
44:Bivalve, New Jersey
184:on that day, near
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143:Purple Heart
131:World War II
128:Battles/wars
428:1944 deaths
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99:1943 - 1944
417:Categories
405:2008-01-28
373:2022-06-09
302:References
240:USAT
186:Valmontone
78:Allegiance
58:Valmontone
269:See also
182:ambushed
86:Service/
332:Staff.
172:in the
170:private
108:Private
60:, Italy
214:flares
136:Awards
88:branch
218:20mm.
210:tanks
56:near
114:Unit
104:Rank
51:Died
46:, US
38:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
