Ralph H. Johnson

Infobox Military Person
name= Ralph Henry Johnson
born= birth date|1949|1|11
died= death date and age|1968|3|5|1949|1|11
placeofbirth= Charleston, South Carolina
placeofdeath= KIA in Vietnam
placeofburial=


nickname=
allegiance=United States of America
branch= United States Marine Corps
serviceyears= 1967-1968
rank= Private First Class
commands=
unit= 1st Reconnaissance Battalion
battles= Vietnam War
awards= Medal of Honor Purple Heart
laterwork=

Ralph Henry Johnson (January 1, 1949–March 5, 1968) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in March 1968 during the Vietnam War. When a hand grenade was thrown into his fighting hole, he immediately covered it with his body — absorbing the full impact of the blast — sacrificing his life to save a fellow Marine and preventing the enemy penetrating his patrol perimeter.

Biography

Ralph Johnson was born on January 11, 1949, in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended Sinemonton Elementary School and Courtnay Elementary School in Charleston.

Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve at Oakland, California on March 23, 1967, and was discharged to enlist in the regular Marine Corps on July 2, 1967.

Upon completion of recruit training with the 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, MCRD San Diego, California, in September 1967, he was transferred to the Camp Pendleton, California. He underwent individual combat training with Company Y, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, and basic infantry training with the Basic Infantry Training Company, 2nd Infantry Training Regiment, completing the latter in November 1967. He was promoted to private first class on November 1, 1967.

In January 1968, he arrived in the Republic of Vietnam, and served as a reconnaissance scout with Company A, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

On March 5, 1968, while on Operation Rock, deep in enemy-held territory near the Quan Duc Valley, his 15-man reconnaissance patrol was attacked by a platoon-sized enemy force. When a hand grenade landed in the fighting hole he shared with fellow Marines, he yelled a warning and immediately hurled his body over the explosive charge. Absorbing the full impact of the blast, was killed instantly. His heroic actions on that day were recognized with a posthumous award of the United States' highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor.

Ralph H. Johnson is buried in the Beaufort National Cemetery in South Carolina.findagrave|7024678 Retrieved on 2007-10-25]

Decorations and honors

Military decorations

A complete list of his medals and decorations includes: the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm, the Vietnamese Military Merit Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Honors

The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina, formerly the Charleston VA Medical Center, was renamed in honor of PFC Johnson, with a formal dedication on September 5, 1991.cite web|accessdate=2007-11-10
url=http://www.charleston.va.gov/page.cfm?pg=16
title=PFC Ralph H. Johnson, USMC — Charleston VAMC
publisher=Department of Veterans Affairs] cite web|accessdate=2007-11-10
url=http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?id=28
title=Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center
work=Facilities and Locator Directory
publisher=Department of Veterans Affairs] Johnson's Medal of Honor, along with his Medal of Honor citation and a portrait of him, is framed and on public display at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center's front lobby.

Johnson's name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ("The Wall") in Washington, D.C. on Panel 43E, Line 008."Ralph Henry Johnson, USMC", "Virtual Wall".]

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS RALPH H. JOHNSON UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a reconnaissance scout with Company A, First Reconnaissance Battalion, First Marine Division in action against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces in the Republic of Vietnam. In the early morning hours of March 5, 1968, during OPERATION ROCK, First Class Johnson was a member of a fifteen-man reconnaissance patrol manning an observation post on Hill 146 overlooking the Quan Duc Valley deep in enemy controlled territory. They were attacked by a platoon-size hostile force employing automatic weapons, satchel charges and hand grenades. Suddenly a hand grenade landed in the three- man fighting hole occupied by Private First Class Johnson and two fellow Marines. Realizing the inherent danger to his comrades, he shouted a warning and unhesitatingly hurled himself upon the explosive device. When the grenade exploded, Private First Class Johnson absorbed the tremendous impact of the blast and was killed instantly. His prompt and heroic act saved the life of one Marine at the cost of his own and undoubtedly prevented the enemy from penetrating his sector of the patrol's perimeter. Private First Class Johnson's courage inspiring valor and selfless devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country."PFC Ralph H. Johnson", "Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor".] /S/ RICHARD M. NIXON

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War

Noted

References

:Marine Corps
*cite web
accessdate=2007-10-25
url=http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Whos_Who/Johnson_RH.htm
title=Private First Class Ralph H. Johnson, USMC
work=Who's Who in Marine Corps History
publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps.
*cite web|accessdate=2006-04-16
url=http://www.usmc.mil/moh.nsf/000003c919889c0385255f980058f5b6/0000033ba9f47a7385255fa400447e1f?OpenDocument
title=Medal of Honor — PFC Ralph H. Johnson (Medal of Honor citation)
work=Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor
publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps
archivedate=2007-01-03
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070103082358/www.usmc.mil/moh.nsf/000003c919889c0385255f980058f5b6/0000033ba9f47a7385255fa400447e1f?OpenDocument

*cite web
accessdate=2006-04-16
url=http://www.virtualwall.org/dj/JohnsonRH01a.htm
title=Ralph Henry Johnson, USMC
publisher=VirtualWall.org

*findagrave|7024678. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.

External links

*cite web|accessdate=2006-04-16
url=http://www.usca.edu/aasc/johnsnra.htm
author=Botch, Robert E.
title=PFC Ralph Johnson, USMC
date=January 1998
publisher=Political Science Department, University of South Carolina-Aiken

*cite web
accessdate=2007-10-25
url=http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/vietnam-a-l.html
title=Johnson, Ralph H.
work=Medal of Honor Recipients — Vietnam
publisher=U.S. Army Center for Military History
date=July 16, 2007

Further reading

*cite book
author=Greene, Robert Ewell
title=Black Defenders of America, 1775-1973
location=Chicago
publisher=Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.
date=1974

Persondata
NAME= Johnson, Ralph H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH= January 1, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH= Charleston, South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH= March 5, 1968
PLACE OF DEATH= KIA in Vietnam KIA in Vietnam