page_title: Vernon O. Johnson
section_title: Combat
hierarchical_section_title: Vernon O. Johnson / World War II and military life / Combat
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of 1st Lt. Vernon O. Johnson at Foggia Air Force Complex in Italy, October 1944. Army Air Corps photograph.
context_page_description: Vernon Oliver Johnson. American World War II B17 pilot, Congressional candidate, traveler and advocate for world peace. After losing his crew in a B17-bomber crash and spending 18 months in V.A. hospitals, Johnson dedicated himself to solving global political tensions via face-to-face dialogue. During the height of the Cold War, he traveled the world for 20 months with his wife, Anne Beckwith Johnson and their eight children, promoting peace and world diplomacy through personal interaction.
context_section_description: After a brief assignment in Morocco, 1st Lieut. Johnson was based at the Foggia Airfield Complex in Italy where he piloted 26 bombing raids on military installations in Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria occasionally accompanied by the Tuskegee Airmen, a component of the 301st Bomb Group.  November 25, 1944 he piloted "secret and confidential [radar] equipment" on an experimental run.   
   During the mission, engine fire caused them to return to Foggia. Unable to land at Foggia, they were diverted to Iesi which resulted in the plane crashing and exploding. Seven crewmen died, and Johnson suffered major injury including dislocated hips, broken ankles and a broken arm. Flight Sergeant E.J. White, a witness from the South African Air Force on duty at the runway, reported "...the crash was undoubtedly attributable to the negligence on the part of the South African Air Force authorities in failing to lay a flare path for the emergency landing." (See linked image to right of Report of Airport Accident declassified September 10, 1982).  Johnson was taken to a nearby Canadian hospital in a monastery for a five-week recovery from extensive burns, then spent 18 months in a Veterans Administration hospital for two amputations of his left leg, reconstruction to the right ankle, and multiple skin grafts.  He was promoted to Captain and received the Purple Heart medal for his service.
caption: Photograph of 1st Lieut. Vernon O. Johnson at Foggia Air Force Complex in Italy, October 1944. Army Air Corps photograph
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