FIRST SGT. FORREST (BUD) JOHNSON  

Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Johnson, 110 Glendale St., Flat River, received a telegram Wednesday stating that the body of their son, Forrest (Bud) Johnson is being returned to the states for reburial. The date of arrival is indefinite. Burial will be at the National Cemetery, Jefferson Barracks.

First Sgt. Johnson was killed in action on Okinawa, June 10, 1945. He was 27 years old and had served nine years in the army. At the time he was killed he was serving with the 96th Infantry Division.

Published by THE LEAD BELT NEWS, Flat River, St. Francois Co. MO, Fri. Feb. 18, 1949.

KILLED ON OKINAWA

Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Johnson, 110 Glendale St., Flat River received a telegram yesterday morning from the War Department stating that their son, First Sergt. Forrest W. Johnson had been killed in action on Okinawa, June 10th. Forrest, known to everyone as "Bud", was 27 years old and had served nine years in the army.

He was wounded in May, 1943 in the battle of Attu for which he had received the Purple Heart. In September, 1943 he spent a 30-day furlough here with his parents. After recuperating from his wounds he was sent to the South Pacific area and received the Bronze Star for meritorious service in the Philippines.

He was serving with the 96th Infantry Division on Okinawa at the time he was killed.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have another son, Howard, who is in the Marines and is now somewhere overseas.

Published by the LEAD BELT NEWS, Flat River, St. Francois Co. MO, Fri. July 27, 1945.

BUD JOHNSON KILLED INSTANTLY
IN FOX HOLE BY MACHINE GUN SNIPER

Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Johnson received a letter yesterday from an officer of the 383rd Infantry Division giving them details of the death of their son, Forrest W. (Bud) Johnson, which occurred June 10 on Okinawa.

"Forrest was killed while his company was engaging the enemy near the town of Iwa-Okinawa Shima. Forrest was courageously heading a heavy machine gun platoon which he had been placed in charge of since the beginning of this operation. He was sitting in his fox hole talking over the tactical situation with the company commander when an enemy machine gun sniper fired upon them killing Forrest instantly.

"He was buried in the 96th Infantry Division temporary cemetery No. 2 on Okinawa Shima. His burial was in accordance with rites of his own faith with full military honors in a quiet and peaceful setting."

Bud had been awarded the Purple Heart for injuries received on Attu and the Bronze Star for courageous action on Leyte.

Forrest W. (Bud) Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Johnson, 110 Glendale St., Flat River, was killed in action on Okinawa June 10, according to a telegram received by his parents on Thursday, July 26.

Bud, as he was known to everyone, was born January 12, 1918 at Alliance, Missouri. The family moved to Flat River when he was six years old and have lived at 110 Glendale since moving here. He attended Flat River Schools but joined the army in February, 1936 before he would have graduated in May.

He was stationed at Jefferson Barracks until he was sent to Hawaii in September, 1938 and was there until December, 1940, when he was sent back to the States and stationed at Fort Ord, Calif. After the attack at Pearl Harbor he helped build fortification posts all along the west coast. On May 11, 1943 he landed on the island of Attu in the Aleutians and was wounded in the left leg and right foot five days later but carried on until his legs gave way and then crawled 800 yards through ice and snow to a dressing station. He was among the first five wounded in World War II to return to the States. He was in hospitals until August, 1943 when he spent a months furlough here with his parents.

After reporting back to a hospital in Washington he was reassigned to Camp White, Oregon and was sent to San Luis Obispo, Calif., with a group of 30 men and had a 10 day delay in travel which was spent here. He was then assigned to Camp Roberts, Calif., and had a 15-day furlough before sailing for the Philippines in August, 1944. He participated in the invasion of Leyte, his regiment being credited with taking Catmon Ridge there. He then participated in the invasion of Okinawa where he fought with the 383rd Regiment of the 96th Infantry Division until he was killed in action on June 10th. At the time he was killed his commission had been sent in for approval which would have made him a second lieutenant, whose duties he was doing at the time he was killed. He was to be discharged as an enlisted man and then commissioned as an officer. He was to get a First Lieutenant pay for having over five years service.

Besides his parents he is survived by five sisters, Mrs. Cecil (Fern) Rosener, Flat River; a twin sister, Mrs. Harold (Fay) Poff, Columbia; Mrs. Morris (Patsy) Forchee, St. Louis; Miss Evelyn Johnson, at home and Mrs. Leroy (Verneille) Agnew, Flat River and one brother, Howard of the Marines, also a grandfather, J. H. Johnson, Cape Girardeau, many other relatives and friends. His brother, Pfc. Howard Johnson of the Marines served for 28 months in the South Pacific, participating in the invasions of Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. He is now stationed on a ship and will be in the European Theater for the next year.

Published by the LEAD BELT NEWS, Flat River, St. Francois Co. MO, Fri. Aug. 3, 1945.