Ellsworth Johnson (1923-2023), 100-year-old WWII special-ops veteran
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3 min readEllsworth Johnson was a WWII veteran and the last known surviving member of a secret U.S. military unit that operated in enemy-occupied territory in France and China.
- Died: September 30, 2023 (Who else died on September 30?)
- Details of death: Died in Zeeland, Michigan, at the age of 100.
- We invite you to share condolences for Ellsworth Johnson in his Guest Book.
Ellsworth Johnson’s legacy
Johnson came from a military family -- he was born at an Army hospital in Ohio in 1923 and grew up on the bases where his father was stationed. After being drafted into Army service in 1943, he trained as a medic and volunteered to be assigned to more dangerous missions, preferring to use his skills during active combat instead of waiting to treat soldiers in the aftermath. He ended up serving with the Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to what eventually became the Central Intelligence Agency, in a special operations group that predated the later formation of the Army's Green Berets.
After training with other recruits in North Africa, in August of 1944, Johnson and his team parachuted from a B-24 bomber 400 miles into German-occupied France. Their mission was to feed intelligence to Allied forces preparing to retake France and assist the French Resistance with strategically harassing German troops. One critical victory involved ousting a German garrison in control of a hydroelectric power plant near the town of Eguzon and forcing them to retreat through southern France.
After a month in France, Johnson then volunteered to join other American military advisors in the Pacific Theater of the war. In the summer of 1945, he jumped some 600 miles into Japanese-controlled territory in China to provide medical care and train Chinese airborne and ground troops. As he had in Europe, Johnson also participated in campaigns to disrupt Japanese military operations, breaking supply lines and attempting to retake Chinese towns.
Having survived the war, Johnson returned to Michigan, where he earned an associate degree from Grand Rapids Junior College, became a machinery and beauty-supply salesman, and eventually married in 1947. As a Technician 4th Grade with the Army, Johnson was awarded two Bronze Stars and the Congressional Gold Medal, and was commissioned as an honorary colonel in the Chinese Nationalist Army. His missions were declassified half a century later in 1995. In September 2023, two months after his 100th birthday and just a month before he died, the Army honored him in person with the presentation of a Special Forces tab and a Green Beret.
Notable quote
“When the news came that we were to leave [China], we were all happy to go … We had had enough of war and all the stupid things that go along with it.”—from a 2021 interview with Soldier of Fortune magazine.
Full obituary: The New York Times
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