Beaufort’s Jeff Johnson, 76, was commissioned from the Army ROTC unit at Youngstown State (Ohio) University in 1969. After the Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Okla., and Airborne/Ranger training at Fort Benning, Ga., he was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, as an artillery officer. He then spent 19 months in the central highlands of Vietnam including action in the Battles of An Loc and Tay Nihn during which he received a Purple Heart.
His next assignment was at the Artillery Advanced Course and Fort Sill before a two-year assignment to Turkey. He returned from there to earn a Master’s Degree in International Relations at Stetson University in Florida and then taught ROTC there. He next attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., becoming an Arabic language specialist. He then spent 18 months in Jordan honing those skills.
Returning to the States he served at Fort Polk, La., in artillery leadership positions before spending seven years at the Headquarters U.S. Army Europe, including heading the intelligence section for the Middle East and commanding a battalion in Northern Germany. His next tour saw him command the ROTC unit at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Promoted to Coronel, he then served as the Senior Military Liaison Officer to the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi. His final assignment was as an instructor at the Army War College. He retired in 1995 as a Colonel with 26 years of service and then spent 20 years as a software engineer under government contract.
Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
