serviceyears branch death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit awards battles birth_date rank article_title name
1937 -- 1942 united states navy coral sea 8 may 1942 winthrop , minnesota united states of america yorktown cv-5 6 -lrb- cv-5 -rrb- navy cross battle of the coral sea 28 december 1913 lieutenant earl v. johnson
 earl vincent johnson
earl v. johnson

earl vincent johnson was born on 28 december 1913 in winthrop , minnesota.eldest child of dr otto f. and salma e. johnson .
he enlisted in the united states naval reserve on 31 august 1937 , and began naval aviation training the next year .
he reported to scouting squadron 5 -lrb- vs-5 -rrb- on board on 18 september 1939 , and received a regular commission the following year .
he was detached from the squadron in march 1942 and assigned to the ship 's company .
during the battle of the coral sea , he flew a sbd 3 dauntless dive bomber with `` yorktown '' 's scouting 5 squadron , attacking japanese shipping in tulagi harbor and aircraft carriers in the coral sea .
lieutenant johnson was lost in aerial combat on 8 may , and awarded the navy cross for extraordinary heroism .
in 1943 , the destroyer escort uss `` earl v. johnson '' -lrb- de-702 -rrb- was named in honor of lt johnson , sponsored by his mother , mrs. selma e. johnson along with his brother , lt curtiss s. johnson , us army .
