WW2 Leyte Fallen - Medal of Honor hero Leroy Johnson, 32nd Infantry Division

Sgt. Leroy Johnson served with the 32nd Infantry Division in Leyte.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7614605/leroy-johnson
http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-10.html 

Leroy Johnson never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on December 6, 1919 in Louisiana. His parents Leander and Izeline were also both born in Louisiana. His father worked as a farmer and later as a railroad tie maker. Leroy had two older sisters, one older brother, three younger sisters, and two younger brothers. By 1940 Leroy had completed six years of schooling. He was still living with his parents and worked as a laborer for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Later he found work as a carpenter.

He enlisted in the army in November 1941. He became a sergeant in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. The 32nd ID was one of the first army units sent to the Pacific Theater. It arrived in Australia in May 1942. It first fought in difficult jungle conditions in New Guinea, where losses to tropical diseases exceeded combat losses. In April 1943 then Private Johnson was awarded the Silver Star for action at Senananda, New Guinea during December 1942. The 32nd ID was next part of the return to the Philippines when it landed in Leyte. It began engaging the enemy in combat on November 14, 1944.

On December 15, 1944 squad leader Leroy Johnson was given the assignment to lead a patrol to a ridge that was strongly defended by Japanese troops. Sgt. Johnson selected three men to go with him. In the process of taking out a machine-gun nest, the enemy targeted Johnson's squad with hand grenades. Seeing two of them land where all his men would be wounded or worse, Sgt. Johnson threw himself on top of the grenades and absorbed the full effects of the explosion. He died shortly thereafter.

Sgt. Johnson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his selfless sacrifice. His citation reads as follows:

Sergeant Leroy Johnson, Company K, 126th Infantry, was squad leader of a 9-man patrol sent to reconnoiter a ridge held by a well-entrenched enemy force. Seeing an enemy machine-gun position, he ordered his men to remain behind while he crawled to within 6 yards of the gun. 

One of the enemy crew jumped up and prepared to man the weapon. Quickly withdrawing, Sgt. Johnson rejoined his patrol and reported the situation to his commanding officer. Ordered to destroy the gun, which covered the approaches to several other enemy positions, he chose 3 other men, armed them with hand grenades, and led them to a point near the objective. 

After taking partial cover behind a log, the men had knocked out the gun and begun an assault when hostile troops on the flank hurled several grenades. As he started for cover, Sgt. Johnson saw 2 unexploded grenades which had fallen near his men. Knowing that his comrades would be wounded or killed by the explosion, he deliberately threw himself on the grenades and received their full charge in his body. Fatally wounded by the blast, he died soon afterward. 

Through his outstanding gallantry in sacrificing his life for his comrades, Sgt. Johnson provided a shining example of the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

His grave is at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, Philippines.

The army air base in New Orleans was renamed Camp Leroy Johnson.

Thank you Sgt. Johnson for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Leroy.

Last year on this date I profiled Battle of Savo Island fallen Edward Buitenwert, USS Quincy. You can read about Edward here.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

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