Hugh Johnson

**Hugh Wilbur Johnson** was a United States Marine who went Missing in Action during the Battle of Tarawa on Betio Island of the Gilbert Islands, now part of Kiribati. His younger brother, Thomas, was also killed and his remains were identified on May 6, 2020.

## Early Life

Hugh Johnson was born on March 1, 1922 to Thomas and Muriel Johnson in San Jose, California. He was the second of four children.

## Military service

In 1939, Hugh Johnson joined the United States Marine Corps. His military service number is 282725. He was a Sergeant in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 8th Marines (A-1/8) of the 2nd Marine Division. Johnson participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal and was wounded. He recovered in a hospital in New Zealand where he reunited with his brother, Thomas, who joined the Marines a couple years later and was also wounded from the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The 2nd Marine Division landed on Betio Island on November 20, 1943 as part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. Invasion of the Gilbert Islands. The mission was to take control of the airfield on the Tarawa Atoll so that Japanese Imperial Army would be less close to the United States and the United  States would be closer to Japan. Most of the fighting would occur on Betio Island as it was the largest of the islands on Tarawa Atoll. This battle would prove critical for the American offensive and the first time they faced serious Japanese opposition as they were well-supplied and prepared and fought to the last man standing.

On the first day of the battle, Johnson was reportedly killed in action, although the circumstances of his death are unknown. Thomas was killed in the battle two days later.

On November 23, 1943, U.S. Forces would take over the island. Overall, 1,696 U.S. Marines were killed and 2,101 were wounded and 4,690 Imperial Japanese Army soldiers and construction laborers were killed and 146 were captured.

## Aftermath

After his death, Johnson was awarded the following medals: the Purple Heart and the Presidential Unit Citation. The awards were accepted by his father. His name is also inscribed within the Courts of Missing in Court 4 at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Johnson family was informed of the deaths of Hugh and Thomas on December 23, 1943. It gave the Johnson family much grief, especially as they were informed just days before Christmas. Their deaths also prevented their other brother Kenneth, not being allowed to serve overseas.

Johnson's remains were recovered and buried in Row D of Cemetery 33 on Betio Island. However, they were not recovered when the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations between 1946 and 1947. In 1949, a military review board declared him non-recoverable. The same also applied to Thomas.

Since March 2019, History Flight Inc. has recovered remains from Row D of Cemetery 33 on Betio Island. Thomas Johnson Jr. has been among the several Marines whose remains have since been identified. Thomas was buried on November 23, 2020 with full military honors at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo, California. A gravesite for Hugh is reserved right next to Thomas when the former's remains are found and identified.

Hugh Wilbur Johnson remains among the over 72,000 Americans who remain unaccounted for in World War II.

## Sources

* Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
* Hugh Johnson at the Honolulu Memorial
* *Honor States*
* Battle of Tarawa on Wikipedia