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513'• \;6

3 `)3 NOMINATION OF LT. GEN. HAROLD K.

JOHNSON TO BE CHIEF OF STAFF, ARMY

GOVERNMENT

Storage KSU LIBRARIES 

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES

-UNITED STATES SENATE

EIGHTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

LT. GEN. HAROLD KEITH JOHNSON, U.S. ARMY, FOR APPOINTMENT' AS CHIEF OF STAFF, U.S. ARMY IN THE

GRADE OF GENERAL

JULY 2, 1964

Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

38-380 WASHINGTON: 1964

-
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES

RICHARD B.

JOHN STENNIS, Mississippi

HARRY FLOOD BYRD, Virginia

STUART SYMINGTON, Missouri

HENRY M. JACKSON, Washington

SAM J. ERVIN, JR., North Carolina

STROM THURMOND, South Carolina

CLAIR ENGLE, California

HOWARD W. CANNON, Nevada

ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia

STEPHEN M. YOUNG, Ohio

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii

II

RUSSELL, Georgia, Chairman

LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Massachusetts

MARGARET CHASE SMITH, Maine

J. GLENN BEALL, Maryland

BARRY GOLDWATER, Arizona

CLIFFORD P. CASE, New Jersey
NOMINATION OF LT. GEN. HAROLD K. JOHNSON TO BE

CHIEF OF STAFF (ARMY)

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1964

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11 a.m., in room 212,

Old Senate Office Building.

Present: Senators Russell (presiding), Symington, Jackson, Ervin,

Thurmond, Young of Ohio, Inouye, and Bea11.

Also present: William H. Darden, professional staff member; and

H. S. Atkinson, assistant chief clerk.

Chairman RUSSELL. The committee meets this morning to consider

the nomination of Lt. Gen. Harold Keith Johnson, of the U.S. Army,

for appointment as Chief of Staff of the Army, in the grade of general.

(The nomination report and reference of General Johnson follow:)

216]

NOMINATION REFERENCE AND REPORT

IN EXECUTIVE SESSION,

SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,

June 25, 1964.

Ordered, That the following nomination be referred to the Committee on

Armed Services:

Lieutenant General Harold Keith Johnson, United States Army, for appointment as Chief of Staff, United States Army, in the grade of general.

litsumi OF SERVICE CAREER OF HAR TH JOHNSON, LIEUTENANT GENERAL

Date and place of birth: February 22, 1912, Bowesmont, N. Dak.

Years of active service: Over 31.

Present assignment: Deputy Chief of staff for Military Operations, U.S. Army,

Washington, D.C., since July 1963.

Military schools attended:

U.S. Military Academy.

The Infantry School, regular course.

The Infantry School, orientation course No. 2.

Command and General Staff College.

Educational equivalent to the Infantry School, advanced course.

Armed Forces Staff College.

National War College.

xxxxxx
2 NOMINATION OF LT. GEN. HAROLD K. JOHNSON

Major permanent duty assignments (last 10 years):

From— To—

Senior assistant chief and later executive officer, Plans Division,

Office, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, Army

General Staff, Washington, D.C.

Assistant commanding general, 8th Infantry Division, Camp

Carson, Colo., later U.S. Army, Europe.

Chief of Staff, 7th U.S. Army, U.S. Army, Europe 

Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, U.S. Army, Europe 

Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, Europe and Chief of Staff,

Central Army Group, U.S. Army, Europe.

Commandant, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kans.

Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations for

Plans and Operations, Office, Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.

Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, U.S.

Army, Washington, D.C.

June 1954

January 1956 

September 1957_ _ _

April 1959 

December 1959_ _ _ _

August 1960 

February 1963 

May 1963 

January 1956.

September 1957.

March 1959.

December 1959.

August 1960.

February 1963.

April 1963.

June 1963.

Promotions:

Temporary Permanent

2d lieutenant 

1st lieutenant 

Captain 

Major 

Lieutenant colonel 

Colonel 

Lieutenant colonel 

Colonel 

Brigadier general 

Major general 

Lieutenant general 

June 13, 1933

June 14, 1936

Oct. 1, 1940 June 14, 1943

Dec. 24, 1941 July 15, 1948

Apr. 7, 1942

Sept. 15, 1945

May 1, 1946 July 28, 1950

Dec. 30, 1950 Feb. 1, 1956

Jan. 1, 1956 June 21, 1960

Oct. 1, 1959 Apr. 1, 1963

July 1,1963

Medals and awards:

Distinguished Service Cross.

Legion of Merit (with three oak leaf clusters).

Bronze Star Medal.

Chairman RUSSELL. This is the first nomination involving General

Johnson that requires a personal appearance before the Committee on

Armed Services.

On behalf of the committee, General, I welcome you here and

extend hearty congratulations on your selection to fill this very

important position.

STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. HAROLD KEITH JOHNSON, NOMINEE

FOR APPOINTMENT AS CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY

General JOHNSON. Thank you very much, sir,'

Chairman RUSSELL. General, if you will give us an oral summary of

your background and career, we may then have a few questions.

General JOHNSON. I was born in North Dakota in 1912, lived in

North Dakota through my schooldays, and attended elementary

and high school in• North Dakota, graduating from Grafton High

School in 1929.

I entered West Point that same year, graduated in 1933 and was

commissioned in the infantry. I had the usual run of troop assignments, stationed first at Fort Snelling, Minn., with the 3d Infantry,

which presently is here in Washington, attended the Infantry School

in 1937-38, and was stationed in New York for a couple of years

prior to going to the Philippines in 1940.
NOMINATION OF LT. GEN. HAROLD K. JOHNSON

In 1941, when war broke out, I was assigned to the Philippine

Scouts, a part of the Philippine Division, and participated in the

campaigns in Central Luzon and on Bataan.

At the conclusion of hostilities I was a battalion commander in the

57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts.

I participated in the Bataan death march and was a prisoner for

41 months to the day. I was moved from the Philippines to Japan

in December and January of 1944 and 1945.

We were moved from japan to Korea in April of 1945 and we were

liberated there in early September by the 7th Division when they made

their landing at Inchon.

Following the war, I was permitted to take a number of refresher

courses at our ground force schools to catch up on the things that I

had missed during the war. I attended the Command and General

Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in its first full-year course after

the war and was retained on the faculty for 2 years. I attended the

Armed Forces Staff College, from whence I reported to Fort Devens,

Mass., to again command an infantry battalion.

I was with my battalion at Fort Drum, N.Y., conducting demonstrations for Reserve and Guard units on summer active duty training

when the Korean war started. I was alerted to form a provisional

battalion to take to Korea to fill out our understrength units that had

been committed from Japan to the Korean action. I took the 1st

Provisional Infantry Battalion from Fort Devens to Korea and joined

the 8th Cavalry Regiment as its 3d Battalion.

I fought with the battalion for 2 months, then became the regimental commander of the 5th Cavalry Regiment for 2 months during

which time we moved from Pyongyang to the north, had our first

meeting with the Chinese, and eventually withdrew back to Seoul.

Upon reaching Seoul I was transferred back to the 8th Cavalry as

its commander.

Chairman RUSSELL. Is that part of the 1st Cavalry Division?

General JOHNSON. Yes, sir. After commanding the 8th Cavalry

Regiment I was reassigned to the 1st U.S. Corps as the G-3 or

Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations.

I stayed there until October, when I returned to the United States

for assignment to the Office of the Chief of Army Field Forces at

Fort Monroe, Va. I was at Fort Monroe from December until the

following August, at which time I was reassigned to Washington to

attend the National War College.

From the War College, I was assigned in the Pentagon to the

Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, first as Chief of the Joint

War Plans Branch, later as the Deputy Army Planner, and still

later as the executive officer of G-3. I was selected for promotion to

brigadier general in December of that year (1955) and in January

1956 I was reassigned to the 8th Infantry Division, then at Fort

Carson, Colo.

The 8th Division was one of the gyroscope units. We moved to

Germany during the late summer and fall of 1956. I went over with

the first increment, served with them in Germany for a year before I

was reassigned as Chief of Staff of the 7th Army. I spent 19 months

in that assignment and was reassigned in April 1959 as Assistant

Chief of G-3 Operations of U.S. Army, Europe. After approxi-
4 NOMINATION OF LT. GEN. HAROLD K. JOHNSON

mately 9 months in that assignment, I became the Chief of Staff of

the Central Army Group—a NATO headquarters planning for the

wartime activities of French, German, and United States forces

generally from the area Kassel to the south in Germany.

I came back in August 1960 to be the commandant of our Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. I spent

30 months in that assignment and then came to Washington as an

Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations on February

27 last year. I became the Acting Deputy Chief of Staff on May 6,

and on July 1, I was promoted to lieutenant general and designated

the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations.

I have been in that position until the day before yesterday, when I

began to disassociate myself in preparation for this hearing.

Chairman RUSSELL. You have been in Washington for the last

4 years, practically?

General JOHNSON. No, sir; I have been in Washington for approximately the last 16 months. Prior to that time, I was at Fort Leavenworth for 30 months.

Chairman RUSSELL. It is neither pertinent nor germane, General,

but is your name Johnson of English or Scandinavian derivation?

General JOHNSON. English, sir. My family says Scotch and Irish.

Chairman RUSSELL. Did you know General King?

General JOHNSON. Yes, sir. I knew him quite well, sir.

Chairman RUSSELL. I would say you have a friend out there. I

knew him quite well. He lived in my State.

General JOHNSON. He is a very fine gentleman.

Chairman RUSSELL. He is, he is a very fine man.

General, I wish you would give us a statement as to your concept

of your duty and responsibility to the legislative branch of the

Government in the event you are asked questions on subjects where the

views of the legislative branch or your own views might be at variance

with those of the executive branch, the Chief Executive—the President—or the Secretary of Defense.

General JOHNSON. I hold the view that my first obligation is to the

defense of my country, that when I appear before this committee or

any committee of the Congress, it is incumbent upon me to be completely honest with the Congress and to respond to any questions

that I am competent to answer.

Moreover, subsequent to the announcement of my nomination,

I discussed this point with the Secretary of Defense and I have his

assurance that I am at complete freedom to do just what I have stated

to the committee.

Chairman RUSSELL. That is to make a full statement outlining your

own personal view based on this very broad experience that you have

outlined to us here this morning?

General JOHNSON. Yes, sir.

Chairman RUSSELL. In the event that your views are contrary to

those held by the Secretary of Defense?

General JOHNSON. Yes sir.

Chairman RUSSELL. Well, of course, the Secretary of State, too,

for that matter.

General JOHNSON. I would anticipate, sir, that I am not going to

be quarreling with the Secretary of State.

•
NOMINATION OF LT. GEN. HAROLD K. JOHNSON 5

Chairman RUSSELL. Off the record.

(Discussion off the record.)

Chairman RUSSELL. Senator Bea11?

Senator BEALL. General, have you always been an infantry

officer?

General JOHNSON. Yes, sir; up until the time I was appointed a

general officer. As a general officer I have no specific branch affiliation.

Senator BEALL. Mr. Chairman, this is something a little unusual,

to recognize the infantry as the all-around soldier. It is a little unusual. Something new, I think.

I have no further questions.

Chairman RUSSELL. Senator Symington?

Senator SYMINGTON. General, where did you get your Distinguished

Service Cross?

General JOHNSON. In Korea, sir, as a battalion commander.

Senator SYMINGTON. I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman.

It appears to me that the record of this officer is outstanding, and I

look forward to voting for his confirmation.

Chairman RUSSELL. Senator Jackson?

Senator JACKSON. All I want to say, Mr. Chairman, is that I am

impressed with General Johnson's fine record and forthright way in

which he has responded to questions.

Chairman RUSSELL. Senator Thurmond?

Senator THURMOND. Mr. Chairman, I have no questions. I just

want to say that I have known General Johnson out at the Command

and General Staff College and some other places, and he has an

outstanding record. He is a very able Army officer and well equipped

to be Chief of Staff. I think he will make an excellent Chief of Staff.

I shall take pleasure in supporting his confirmation.

Chairman RUSSELL. Senator Young?

Senator YOUNG. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have no questions—

well, one question.

General Johnson to my regret, I have not known you until now, but

may I ask this? 

Johnson,

do hold the view and will continue to hold the

view, will you not, that in our Nation, the civilian authority is always

supreme over military authority?

General JOHNSON. I do, sir.

Chairman RUSSELL. Senator Inouye?

Senator INOUYE. Mr. Chairman, I just wish to congratulate the

general for his nomination and to say that I am greatly impressed,

like my colleagues, with his war record and his military record. I

am extremely pleased, personally, to see an Infantry officer become

the Chief of Staff.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

General JOHNSON. I would remind the committee, if it is not

presumptuous, that General Wheeler is also an infantry officer.

He has spent a good deal of time on high-level staff work, but in

addition he has commanded every unit from a platoon to a corps

and has been a deputy theater commander.

Senator INOUYE. It is about time they took over.

Chairman RussEL1,,, Lthought he served on the staff in World

War II.
6 NOMINATION OF LT. GEN. HAROLD K. JOHNSON

General JOHNSON. He was the Chief of Staff of an infantry division

during World War II; yes, sir. And I might add—his first assignment

out of West Point was at Fort Benning in the 29th Infantry Regiment

which in those days was considered the cream of all assignments.

Chairman RUSSELL. General, we congratualte you and wish you

Godspeed and good luck as you embark on your very important

duties, vital to the security of this country. I can assure you that

the members of the committee are very anxious to cooperate with

you to the fullest extent in any matters that may arise where the

legislative branch can be of any assistance to the Armed Forces of

this country.

Thank you, sir; we are glad to have met you.

General JOHNSON. Thank you, sir.

Chairman RUSSELL. The committee will now go into executive

session.

(Whereupon, at 11:18 a.m., the committee went into executive

session.)

(The nomination of Lt. Gen. Harold Keith Johnson to be Chief of

Staff, U.S. Army in the grade of general was subsequently approved

by the committee in executive session, and confirmed by the Senate

the same day, July 2, 1964.)

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