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Pages of History
Twenty years ago, I interviewed several of Laurel’s surviving World War II veterans and tape recorded their stories.
Thursday, June 6, 2024, marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy, France.
Lauren D. Johnson was one of the first veterans I interviewed. He was in an artillery company that landed on Omaha Beach on the morning of June 7, 1944.
This is part of what he told me in his own words: “I was farming with my brother Floyd on Dec. 7, 1941, when the United States declared war on Japan and later on Germany. I was 23 years old at the time and Floyd was 25. Both of us were single and we had farmed together for five years before the war. We both had to register with the draft board.
“In 1942 I received my orders to report to the draft board in Hartington. On the morning of Aug. 10, 1942, I left on a bus along with about 40 other young men for Fort Crook in Omaha where I took the final physical examination. After dinner we left for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. “Upon arriving at Fort Leavenworth, we received our first army clothing and several shots. We had to sleep in tents and learn how the army does things. It was hard to get used to not having our freedom, and it wasn’t easy learning to take orders from some officer or sergeant who now had complete charge of us. But we wanted to be good soldiers so we either had to take orders or pay the penalty.
“From Fort Leavenworth we were sent to Fort Bliss, Texas. After three months of basic training, we were sent to Camp Cockscomb near Indio, Calif.. It was 108 degrees when we arrived on Dec. 1, 1942. We trained with the 6th and 7th Armored Division for about five months. Then the 30th Infantry Division arrived and we were attached to them. We trained for North Africa by climbing the Cockscomb Mountains and maneuvering in Death Valley where the temperature reached 122 degrees.
“The North Africa campaign was over in August 1943 so we had to move again. We loaded our guns and equipment onto trucks and jeeps and headed east. After seven days and nights we arrived in Richmond, Virginia. After two months in Richmond, we loaded our gear into the trucks once more and headed north. Two days later we reached Fort Devens, Massachusetts.
“While at Fort Devens, I received a 14-day furlough and was able to return home for the first time since being inducted.
“Upon returning to camp, I learned that my outfit had received orders to ship overseas. We had no idea where we were going. On Feb. 12, 1944, we boarded a British ship named the “Empress of Australia.” On Feb. 24, we reached Liverpool, England. The English people were glad to see us.
“We trained for the invasion of France until the first of June. Everyone was nervous and frightened as we climbed into a Landing Troop Carrier at around 12 a.m. on the morning of June 7, 1944. We crossed the English Channel to Omaha Beach, where bodies of our soldiers still were floating in the water. Enemy guns were firing all around us. At daylight we began moving into enemy territory, but we stalled at St. Lo, France, about 20 miles from Omaha Beach. After about two weeks, the Air Force came over with fighter planes and bombers. St. Lo was the scene of some very hard fighting. After the shelling and bombing started, the Germans began to retreat. As they pulled back, we moved forward.
“We had a long journey across France. A major tank battle at Mortain slowed us down again. After winning that battle, we were on the move once more, slowly liberating one village after another. With the help of tanks, artillery, and anti-aircraft guns, the infantry advanced from one town to another until we reached the Belgian border. Toward the end of summer, we reached Holland. As the Germans were on the run, there were fewer battles than before. We finally reached the German border at the Siegfried Line where World War I ended in 1918.
After capturing a number of pillboxes with machine guns mounted in them, we moved into German territory for the first time. We moved pretty fast, taking one town after another until we received orders to return to Belgium. The Germans had formed a pocket in the Ardennes Forest and we were sent to attack it. This was called the Battle of the Bulge. It was one of the hardest battles we had been in. Many men lost their lives before it was over. We had been in five major battles before we defeated the Germans. We celebrated Christmas there and it was one not to be forgotten.
“On April 27, 1945, I was wounded by a sniper. I was in Magdeburg, Germany, when I was hit. From there I was sent to an Army hospital in Reims, France, where I stayed four months. Finally, I got to go home aboard a captured German war ship that had been converted to a hospital ship. What a wonderful feeling it was to be on the way back to the good old USA with five bronze stars, each for a battle won.
“The hospital ship was one day off of the coast of Charleston, S.C., when we heard the war was over. That was wonderful news because we expected to be shipped to China, India, or Burma. After spending the night in Charleston, I got on a train. Three days later - Aug. 15, 1945 - I arrived at Fort Carson, Colo. I was still in a convalescent hospital when I received my discharge on November 10, 1945. After a year and a half overseas I finally got my freedom and was able to return to my family — Lauren D. Johnson.
Lauren Delmar “Shorty” Johnson passed away on October 6, 2019. At the time of his death he was 100 years old and one of Laurel’s last surviving WWII vets. When interviewed in May 2004, Shorty still had a keen memory of his wartime experiences. He also had an album of photographs taken during the war and a box of souvenirs. In the box was a piece of the shrapnel that put him out of commission on April 27, 1945.
