Leon W. Johnson
United States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient
Died when: 93 years 58 days (1117 months)Star Sign: Virgo
General Leon William Johnson (13 September 1904 – 10 November 1997) was a United States Air Force general who was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading the attack on the Ploesti oil fields during World War II.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Johnson was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry in 1926.
He joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1929, and qualified as a pilot.He earned a Master of Science degree in meteorology from California Institute of Technology in 1936.
During World War II, Johnson was one of the first four flying officers of the Eighth Air Force, and served on it staff during its formative period at Savannah, Georgia.
In 1943, he assumed command of the 44th Bombardment Group, which flew the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.Johnson led the attack on the German naval installations at Kiel in May 1943 and the attack on the Ploesti oil fields in August 1943, for which the 44th Bombardment Group received Distinguished Unit Citations.
He commanded the 14th Combat Bombardment Wing from September 1943 until May 1945.After the war, Johnson commanded the Strategic Air Command's Fifteenth Air Force.
He returned to England in 1948 to lead the 3rd Air Division, and then the Third Air Force, as it was redesignated in 1951.
Despite his lowly rank of major general, he was able to hold his own in dealings with more senior British officers and officials, and performed his duties with diplomacy and sensitivity.
He returned to the United States in 1952 as head of the Continental Air Command.He was air deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, at SHAPE Headquarters from 1958 until he retired in 1961, but on later that year he was recalled to active duty to become director of the National Security Council's Net Evaluation Subcommittee Staff at the Pentagon.
He finally retired in 1965.
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