Dwight Hal Johnson
Johnson was born May 7, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He was drafted into
the United States Army in 1967 and in June, 1968 was serving in Company
B, 1st Battalion, 69th Armor, 4th Infantry Division in the Republic of
Vietnam. His citation partially reads: “Specialist Johnson’s tank, upon
reaching the point of contact, threw a track and became immobilized.
Realizing that he could do no more as a driver, he climbed out of the
vehicle, armed only with a .45 caliber pistol.
Despite intense hostile fire, Specialist Johnson killed several enemy
soldiers before he had expended his ammunition. Returning to his tank
through a heavy volume of antitank rocket, small arms and automatic
weapons fire, he obtained a sub-machine gun with which to continue his
fight against the advancing enemy. Armed with this weapon, Specialist
Johnson again braved deadly enemy fire to return to the center of the
ambush site where he courageously eliminated more of the determined foe.
Engaged in extremely close combat when the last of his ammunition was
expended, he killed an enemy soldier with the stock end of his
sub-machine gun. Now weaponless, Specialist Johnson ignored the enemy
fire around him, climbed into his platoon sergeant’s tank, extricated a
wounded crewmember and carried him to an armored personnel carrier. He
then returned to the same tank and assisted in firing the main gun until
it jammed. In a magnificent display of courage, Specialist Johnson
exited the tank and again armed only with a .45 caliber pistol, he
engaged several North Vietnamese troops in close proximity to the
vehicle. Fighting his way through devastating fire and remounting his
own immobilized tank, he remained fully exposed to the enemy as he
bravely and skillfully engaged them with the tank’s externally mounted
.50 caliber machine gun: where he remained until the situation was
brought under control.”
After his discharge from the army in 1971, Johnson had difficulty
adjusting to his post war role and was diagnosed with depression caused
by post-Vietnam adjustment problems. On the night of April 29, 1971, he
was shot while committing armed robbery. Two plays have been written
about Johnson’s life, “Strike Heaven on the Face” and "The Medal of Honor Rag".
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