Joseph T. Johnson, Capt. (1943)

JOHNSON, BREEN, ANDREWS

Posted By: Mary Welty Hart (email)
Date: 2/19/2008 at 09:27:54

Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa
May 12, 1943

JOSEPH T. JOHNSON, Iceland Plane Crash Victim

Relatives in Madison county have been informed of the death of Capt. Joseph T. Johnson, who was killed last week in the airplane crash in Iceland that took the life of Lieut. Gen, Frank M. Andrews, commandaer of the American army in the European theatre of operations, and other high ranking members of his staff.

Captain Johnson was chief pilot for General Andrews, and before that had served in the same capacity for General Brereton in the South Pacific war zone. It is probable that he was piloting the plane when it crashed.

Captain Johnson, who was 23 years old, was the son of Thomas Johnson, formerly of the Churchville neighborhood, but who now lives in Los Angeles. The flyer was a nephew of John C. Johnson and Mrs. M. Breen of Winterset.

The plane was carrying General Andrews and his staff on a tour of inspection when it crashed in a fog into an Icelandic mountain side. Fourteen of the fifteen persons aboard were killed. The only survivor was the tail gunner, who suffered only minor injuries.