Hugh Wilbur Johnson
Sergeant Hugh W. Johnson served with Able Company, First Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was killed in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 21 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 282725
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
October 8, 1921
at Los Gatos, CA
Parents
Thomas William Johnson
Muriel (McCullough) Johnson (d. 1933)
Education
Los Gatos High School
Occupation & Employer
Student
Service Life
Entered Service
March 1, 1940
at San Francisco, CA
Home Of Record
301 South 22nd Street
San Jose, CA
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Thomas W. Johnson
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
A/1/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Guadalcanal)
with Gold Star (Tarawa)
Additional Service Details
Hugh’s brother Thomas Frank Johnson also served with the 2nd Marine Division at Tarawa.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Sergeant Hugh W. Johnson served with Company A, First Battalion, 8th Marines in the Solomon Islands campaign – where he was wounded in the hand by shrapnel on Guadalcanal – and in the battle for Tarawa.
At midday on 20 November 1943, BLT 1-8 climbed over the sides of their transport ships and boarded LCVPs in Tarawa lagoon. They anticipated imminent landing orders, but due to the desperate situation on the beach were held offshore in their little boats, bobbing in the waves for the rest of the day and a very long night. Early on 21 November, they were ordered to land on Betio’s Beach Red 2.
At 0615, the first waves of 1-8 rushed down the ramps and into the breaking surf on a coral reef some 500 yards from shore. Although friendly troops held the water’s edge, they “immediately came under heavy machine gun fire from both flanks.” The battalion was decimated on the long walk to shore. An action report penned by the 8th Marines noted that “many of the casualties resulted from drowning, due to the heavy packs and equipment men attempted to take across the submerged fringing reef.”
Sergeant Johnson was one of those who fell in action on 21 November 1943, either during the landing itself or shortly after coming ashore. His death was confirmed by company officers, but no specifics were recorded.
News of Hugh’s fate was received with great sorrow in San Jose – a tragedy compounded by the death of his younger brother, PFC Thomas F. Johnson (B/1/6th Marines), who also fell at Tarawa. Word also reached Greendale, New Zealand, where Miss Doris Warrington anxiously worried for her fiance. She saw Hugh’s name in a casualty report, “but I believe it is not very reliable, and even when there is the slightest doubt we all hope that ours is the mistake.” Sadly, her fears were confirmed by a letter from the Marine Corps: Hugh was dead, and reportedly buried somewhere on the island of Betio.
Burial Information or Disposition
“Buried in Division Cemetery, grave unknown.”
A memorial marker was erected in Cemetery 33, Plot 8, Row 2, Grave 16.
Thomas Frank Johnson was also buried on Betio and reported as non-recoverable after the war.
In 2019, his remains were found in the “Row D” trench cemetery by non-profit group History Flight.
Thomas was officially identified and accounted for on 6 May 2020.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Thomas W. Johnson.
Location Of Loss
Sergeant Johnson’s battalion landed in the vicinity of Beach Red 2, Betio.
