Kenneth C. Johnson
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Unit Info: 125th Field Artillery
Kenneth Carl Johnson began his military service when he and some high school buddies joined Duluth's HQ Co., 125th Field Artillery, Minnesota National Guard, for three years in the early 1930s.
He earned a dollar for each Monday night drill, which he remembered was really good money for a kid in the Depression. His unit was the first to use Camp Ripley when it opened for summer field training in 1931.
He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and, following basic and advanced infantry training at Camp Blanding, Florida, was assigned to the 90th Infantry Division. He landed with the 90th on Utah Beach, Normandy, on D-Day + 2 and fought his way inland through the embattled French countryside during the summer of 1944. Intense combat eventually landed him in a hospital in England. His rank was Private First Class.
Upon recovery he returned to France with reassignment to a quartermaster company. He was stationed in Reims when Germany surrendered in May 1945.
Following his discharge he returned to Duluth, a city he loved and the only place he ever wanted to live. His goal was to put the war behind him, raise his family, and get on with his life--which he did--but he had experienced terrible things and the war never really left him. In that respect he was like millions of other veterans who gave so much, and to whom we owe so much in return.
