Paul Jones JOHNSON

1923 - 1974  (51 years)

• Name	Paul Jones JOHNSON
  Born	20 Feb 1923	Macon, Bibb County, Georgia
  Gender	Male
  Died	28 Jul 1974	Macon, Bibb County, Georgia   [1]
  Buried	Macon Memorial Park Cemetery, Bibb County, Georgia
  Notes	Paul enlisted in the United States Army Air Force on 31 Mar 1943, at age 20. Flight training took place at McDill Air Force Base, Tampa Florida where he was technically trained as a Radio Operator on the B-17 Flying Fortress. Paul was assigned to: 15th Air Force 301st Bombardment Group Heavy 352nd Bomb Squadron From McDill, he and his crew flew to Brazil and then on to Tunisia in Northern Africa. From there, they flew to Lucera Airfield near Lucera Italy, arriving on Sunday, 17 September 1944. He flew his first mission the following Wednesday, 20 September 1944 Over the course of the next 7 months, he flew 52 missions. At the time he enlisted the standard tour of duty was 25 missions. This number increased to 30 and then to 35 but the commitment was to serve for the duration of the war. There were two missions in which their B-17 Flying Fortress was badly damaged. On Friday, 13th October 1944, they ?returned to base from Vienna with No 4 Engine out and Tokyo Tanks punctured.? On Friday, 16th 1945, they were returning to base from a mission over Munich Airdrome, Germany and the..." No 2 Engine wouldn't feather. Returned to base alone. Just cleared Alps. Ship was shaking badly. Cowling and part of engine was shaken off. Started to bail out in middle of Germany, then we started to go to Switzerland. Ship stopped shaking so badly and we manged to get back to base with empty gas tanks." WWII ended in Europe on 8 May 1945 with the invasion of Germany and the fall of Berlin Due to the number of missions he had flown, Paul was among the first to be discharged after the war. Paul was awarded: European?African?Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters (equivalent of 3 Air Medals) Four Battle Stars Good Conduct Medal In civilian life, Paul was a commercial builder and in the late 1950?s was engaged by the United States Army Corp of Engineers to build a new runway at Robins Air Force Base. This was in response to a Strategic Air Command effort to place nuclear alert aircraft on the eastern side of the base. SAC units at Robins were then able to operate the long range B-52 "Stratofortresses".
  Person ID	I10	Johnson & Hanson
  Last Modified	19 Jan 2021

  
  

  Father	Paul Dean JOHNSON,   b. 15 Jan 1882, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia ,   d. 03 Feb 1955, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia  (Age 73 years)
  Mother	Sallie Blanny JONES,   b. 14 Aug 1886, GA ,   d. 10 May 1959, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia  (Age 72 years)
  Married	27 Nov 1907
  Family ID	F2	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Living
  Children	+ 1. Living   2. Living   3. Larry Daniel JOHNSON,   b. 18 Dec 1951, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia ,   d. 24 May 2018, Lakeland, FL  (Age 66 years)
  Family ID	F6	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Buried - - Macon Memorial Park Cemetery, Bibb County, Georgia  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Paul J Johnson.jpg
  		Paul Johnson in Uniform
  		Paul Johnson Air Medal Awarded first Air Medal on 30 October 1944, General Order #4256.. "for meritorious achievement in aerial flight while participating in sustained operational activities against the enemy between 20 September to 16 October 1944."Subsequently awarded two additional Air Medals.
  		Paul Johnson Air Medal Ribbon with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters Awarded three Air Medals in total as designated by the addition of two Oak Leaf Clusters
  		Paul Johnson EAME Ribbon with 4 Battle Stars The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for service performed in the theater areas of Europe and North Africa. The four battle stars represent multiple battle campaigns.
  		Paul Johnson B-17 Bomber "Lil' Bug" B-17 Bomber "Lil' Bug" with Left wing gunner Tim McMahon

  
  

• Sources

  [S11] Georgia Deaths 1919-1998_ Paul J Johnson.