Lester R Johnson
MilitaryBack row, left to right : Augustine J. Paredes, Radio Operator; John W. Robinson, Gunner; Lyle J. Powell Jr, Gunner; George W. Parks; Gunner; Stanley A. Pitakos Jr, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner; Dewey A. Guidry, Tail Gunner.
Front row, left to right : Lester R. Johnson, Bombardier; John P. Roberts, Pilot; Wallace T. Brown Jr, Co-Pilot; Walter C. Dietzgen, Navigator.
Added photo crew
Flew 26 missions with the 752nd BS then flew 4 missions with the 755th BS. (13 missions as Lead Bombardier).
Flew some missions on the John P. Roberts crew (752nd BS).
Air Medal, 3 bronze stars; DFC
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39695878
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34767422
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Gunner
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
North Dakota | 3 April 1905 | |
Died |
11 June 1905 | ||
Buried |
Johnson City, Tennessee |
Revisions
Added crew members Connections.
The dates of birth ("1905") and death ("1905") must have been wrongly edited in the previous entry. Lester's son Erik posted in 2007 at http://www.458bg.com/archivedgb2007.htm that "My dad, Lester Johnson, was the Bombardier with the Roberts crew, 752nd, and completed 30 missions 10 June '44 - 24 Dec. '44 as a 24 year old 1st Lt." So his birth date must have been 1920 and NARA's WWII Enlistment Records have only one Lester R. Johnson born that year... and in North Dakota...
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / son