WW2 Okinawa Fallen - Gill Johnson, USS Morrison

Seaman First Class Gilbert Johnson served on the destroyer USS Morrison during the Battle of Okinawa.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45311715/gilbert-leslie-johnson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Morrison_(DD-560)

Seaman First Class Gilbert Leslie “Gill” Johnson never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom. 

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WWII fallen, Can you help write some stories? It's a big project. The more help, the better.  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org. This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War II fallen in one free-to-access central database. We are going to need a lot of volunteers. Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

 

Gill was born July 30, 1920, in Scottsville, Virginia to Charles Benjamen Johnson and Ruth A. Allen. He had two brothers Charles Benjamin Johnson and Eugene William Johnson. He also had three sisters Dorothy Marie Johnson Carroll, Beatrice Anne Johnson Proffitt, and Katherine Irene Johnson Spradlin.

Gilbert married his sweetheart Frances Marie Nelms in Waynesboro, Virginia January 28, 1939. 

Gill registered for the U.S. Navy on February 16, 1942, in Scottsville, Virginia. Before enlisting he worked at DuPont. He was a member of the crew of the U.S.S. Morrison (DD-560) destroyer. He bravely served from November 8, 1943, to May 4, 1945.

He was killed in action on May 4, 1945, when his ship was attacked by 4 Japanese suicide planes at the battle of Okinawa, Japan. The Morrison sank in 15 minutes and Gill, along with 151 of his shipmates, was lost to a watery grave. There were 331 men on board, 71 uninjured men, and 108 wounded men were picked up by the LCS 21 after these men had been in the water for about two hours.

His gravestone was placed in Scottsville Cemetary in Scottsville, Virginia.

Thank you for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Gilbert Leslie Johnson.

This profile was written by Brianne Ellison. I am a business owner and stay at home mom of 4 children in Utah. I have been an independent family history researcher for over 12 years now. I have also had a passion for U.S. war history since I was a child. WWII is my most passionate research project aside from family history. I am so grateful to be able to contribute to a memorial of such a courageous soldier that never gave up. It is because of men like Gill, that we have our freedom today. “Land of the Free because of the Brave.” Thank you, Seaman First Class Johnson. You will never be forgotten.

This is one of the final 50 stories (35) to be written as part of this project which ends on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. At that time more than 1,370 men and women will have been profiled. The project will live on in an expanded program to write the stories of all 400,000+ US World War II fallen. Visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org to learn more. We welcome your continued support and interest and encourage you to help write some of these stories.

Last year on this date I profiled C-47 co-pilot John Lukasczyk and 15 nurses lost in the same plane crash. You can read about John 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!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

 

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100

Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100

 

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org