Private First Class Leroy Johnson
United States Army – Killed in Action
27 Infantry Division, 108 Infantry Regiment
February 15, 2021 - Eight months following the end of the World War, Leroy Johnson was born in Shelby County, Texas, July 29, 1919 to Minnie Ola Creech and Rev. Frank Johnson. Although born in Louisiana, his father Frank moved to East Texas when he was eleven years old and married his first wife Cynthia Adella Tinsley in 1899. Cynthia passed at the age of 40 and Frank then married Minnie, a native Texan in 1915. He brought three half-siblings to the marriage and they had four children of their own. The family lived on a farm in Shelby County and later San Augustine County which no doubt provided for essentials and each child had specific chores to help out.(1) Rev. Frank also pastored for 50 years during his lifetime. Tragedy struck the family in July 1938 when his sister Helen Maree was killed by lighting in the back yard of the family home.
Complying with the Selective Service act of 1940, Leroy registered for the military draft on October 16, 1940 at the age of 21 in the McClelland Community of Shelby County. He was living in Choice and self-employed as a farmer. Leroy was five foot eleven inches tall, 135 pounds with brown eyes, blonde hair and had a light complexion.(2)
On December 7, 1941 the Empire of Japan carried out a surprise military strike again the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the United States was once again fighting a world war. Ten months later, October 24, 1942, Leroy Johnson was inducted into the US Army in Tyler Texas and given serial # 38301272. Following basic training he was assigned to the Fortieth Infantry Division, Headquarters Company, Second Battalion, 108 Infantry Regiment, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. PFC Leroy Johnson and the division left Hawaii in January 1944 moving to Guadalcanal and then to the island of Arawe in Papua New Guinea where they conducted combat patrols since there were still many Japanese troops on the island. On November 28, 1944 the Fortieth Division moved to Borgen Bay to prepare for the invasion of Luzon in the Philippine Islands. The 108 Infantry fought brutal battles for the possession of Clark Field as they moved south toward Manila.(3) It was during this fighting that Private First Class Leroy Johnson was killed in action on Friday, January 26, 1945.
The May 10, 1945 edition of Champion Newspaper, Center, Shelby County, Texas reported that his parents, Rev. and Minnie Johnson received a letter from Leroy’s commanding officer that read:
“Leroy volunteered along with others of his company to liberate an especially dangerous section of enemy-held territory to the final objective and after long hours of heavy fight in a hand-to-hand engagement, your son was mortally wounded. He was laid to rest with military honors by his comrades in Row 1, Grave 9, just outside of the new liberated town of Bambon, Luzon, P. I. The chaplain representing his religious preference administered the last rites.”
His comrades of the 108 Infantry Regiment would continue the fight and with the war about over were sent to garrison in Korea in June 1945 and then arriving in San Francisco, California on April 5, 1946. The unit was deactivated two days later earning four campaign streamers and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. The regiment lost 191 men killed in action.(3)
Following the end of World War II, September 2, 1945 of which more than 405,300 Americans died, families were offered burial options. They could choose burial in an overseas military cemetery or bring the remains of their loved one home to the United States for burial in a cemetery of their choice. Rev. Frank and Minnie chose the latter as did approximately 60% of other families facing the same decision.(4)
Although documentation is not available of exactly when Leroy’s remains arrived in Shelby County, it is believed to have been in February 1949, four years after his death. This is based on his father Frank making application for his son’s flat granite Veteran Marker on March 1, 1949.(5) Leroy is buried in the McClelland Cemetery, Shelby County, Texas with his parents and a number of other relatives. Day is done, God is nigh.
“That these dead shall not have died in vain”….. Abraham Lincoln
References:
(1). Year: 1940; Census Place: Shelby, Texas; Roll: m-t0627-04136; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 210-11
(2). Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
(3). “108th Infantry Regiment (United States).” In Wikipedia, December 25, 2020. Accessed February 8, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=108th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)&oldid=996204034.
(4). General Information. Accessed February 6, 2021. https://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/publications/NCA_America_WWII_Burial_Program
(5). Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
