Died 8 May 1942
Coral Sea Unit USS Yorktown (CV-5) Rank Lieutenant Length 93 m | Years of service 1937–1942 Role DE-702 Name Earl Johnson Launched November 24, 1943 | |
Allegiance United States of America | ||
Construction started September 7, 1943 Service/branch United States Navy | ||
Earl Vincent Johnson was born on 28 December 1913 in Winthrop, Minnesota.Eldest child of Dr Otto F. and Salma E. Johnson. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 31 August 1937, and began naval aviation training the next year. He reported to Scouting Squadron 5 (VS-5) on board USS Yorktown on 18 September 1939, and received a regular commission the following year.
He was detached from the squadron in March 1942 and assigned to the ship's company. During the Battle of the Coral Sea, he flew a SBD 3 Dauntless Dive Bomber with Yorktown's Scouting 5 squadron, attacking Japanese shipping in Tulagi Harbor and aircraft carriers in the Coral Sea. Lieutenant Johnson was lost in aerial combat on 8 May, and awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism.
In 1943, the destroyer escort USS Earl V. Johnson (DE-702) was named in honor of Lt Johnson, sponsored by his mother, Mrs. Selma E. Johnson along with his brother, Lt Curtiss S. Johnson, US Army.