This
photo page is rather large and was broken down into smaller sections; Rods career, Santa Barbara, the
Philippines, Okinawa, Saipan and aboard the USS Gilbert Islands.
Also, you'll be asked to click on an image to see a slide shows on a
separate page. Look for the heavier border around these picture
links.
Lt.
Johnson's career
Selection 1 shows Lt. Johnson at various stages of his USMC career.
Photos are thumbnails... click on one to see it full size.
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Rod's parents Mr & Mrs. Oscar E. Johnson, Minnesota |
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1943 training school at Iowa City IA. |
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Pilot training at Corpus Christi NTC. |
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This may be graduation photo after pilot training |
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I believe this is from Pollocksville. |
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Santa Barbara
These 3, all dated January 1945, were taken in Santa Barbara.
I don't know if Lt. Johnson crashed plane EE66. Here are some
512 pilots relaxing.
The Philippines
In July 1945 after some rough missions the carrier put in to Samar in the
Philippines. In the first of several galleries from this stop fresh fruit was an attraction.
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Jerome Windham, 512 pilot |
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The
fight for Manila left the city in ruins. Here Rod chronicles
some of the destruction. Click on this photo-link to see the slide show.
This fancy dwelling was left unscathed... I wonder why.
The carrier was based at San Pedro, Samar very close to the big US air
base at Tacloban. These views are of the airfield and harbor.
The last set of photos from the Philippines has a few random scenes.
I'm not sure about the POW camp - it may be on Okinawa.
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Movie theater(?) and optical shop |
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Okinawa
The next major stop was Okinawa,
from Sept to mid-Oct 1945. The first slides show the
Marine Corps cemetery, a reminder of the high cost of the battle.
Click on this photo-link to visit that slide show.
The next group depict scenes from walking
about. Included are Okinawa burial sites, combat destruction,
and a few remaining structures.
The men of VMF-512 are out and about.
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Probably a reunion with friends |
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Saipan
The carrier was sent to Saipan mid-Oct, its last overseas base before
returning home.
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seated left to right: McCaul 143, Doc Gist, Whalen 143. Standing, unknown |
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left to right: Williams 512, McCaul 143, Doc Gist |
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USS
Gilbert Islands
The
last section of Rod Johnson's photos is from the USS Gilbert
Islands. The slide show depicts parked aircraft.
However planes parked on the ground, probably Saipan, are included
here to keep these interesting photos in one section. Click on this
small picture to see the slide show of Rod's aircraft photos.
Carrier
operations in this slide show depict launch, recovery and queuing up.
I especially like the Corsair launch as the empty ocean in front of
the just launched plane conveys the feeling of flying into the vast
Pacific. Click on this photo-link to get to the slide show.
Lt.
Johnson has some snapshots of the carrier too. Click on a thumbnail to see it
full size.
John
L. Fuller was a civilian assigned to VMF-512 as a "Rocket Sight
Technician". Mr. Fuller was popular with the pilots and here
Maj. Baesler makes him an honorary member of the squadron, July 5,
1945. The rockets were developed by Cal Tech and perhaps Mr.
Fuller trained there. I checked with the Cal Tech archivist and
registrar's offices in Pasadena but no record was found of him as a
student. Please let me know if you have post-war info about him.
On
one of the June raids against the Sakishima Islands Lt. Windham's
engine quit as he was making his landing approach. The F4U went
down but fortunately Lt. Windham was rescued and returned to the
carrier. His fellow pilots prepared a makeshift sign welcoming
home "Big Meat".
The
2 LSOs, Captains Tutton and Fidler, were respected by all. One
pilot told me they never bailed out (jumped into a safety net) and
they always stuck with a plane until the landing or
wave off. Both men were former F4U pilots in VMF-214 when it was
known as the Swashbucklers. You can see more close-ups on
Captain Fidler's photo page
here.
Here are the other men in
Lt. Johnson's USS Gilbert Islands photos. If you know any of the unknowns please let me know
their names so I can fill them in.
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Arlo Southwick (l) and Earl Hopp, 512 pilots |
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(l to r) LSOs Marshall Tutton and John Fidler, unknown |
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Norman Reichwald, 512 pilot |
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Finally, pictures of Lt. Rodney Johnson on the carrier bring this photo album to a
close. The Marines from Minnesota are (l to r) Sgt. Philip Miller (143
turret gunner), Lt. Johnson, Maj. Elton Mueller (512 pilot), Maj.
Blaine Baesler (512 pilot & CO), Lt. Francis McCaul (143 pilot) and
M/T Sgt. Stanley Groth (512).
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Certificate for crossing the equator |
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Rod and the F4U 'Susie Q' |
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Promotion: fellow 512 pilots admire Rod's new rank. |
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Thank you Harriet Johnson for sharing Rod's great
collection with us!
Click here to return to the VMF-512 photo
album page
Lt.
Johnson has some snapshots of the carrier too. Click on a thumbnail to see it
full size.
John
L. Fuller was a civilian assigned to VMF-512 as a "Rocket Sight
Technician". Mr. Fuller was popular with the pilots and here
Maj. Baesler makes him an honorary member of the squadron, July 5,
1945. The rockets were developed by Cal Tech and perhaps Mr.
Fuller trained there. I checked with the Cal Tech archivist and
registrar's offices in Pasadena but no record was found of him as a
student. Please let me know if you have post-war info about him.
On
one of the June raids against the Sakishima Islands Lt. Windham's
engine quit as he was making his landing approach. The F4U went
down but fortunately Lt. Windham was rescued and returned to the
carrier. His fellow pilots prepared a makeshift sign welcoming
home "Big Meat". 
The
2 LSOs, Captains Tutton and Fidler, were respected by all. One
pilot told me they never bailed out (jumped into a safety net) and
they always stuck with a plane until the landing or
wave off. Both men were former F4U pilots in VMF-214 when it was
known as the Swashbucklers. You can see more close-ups on
Captain Fidler's photo page
here.
