JOHNSON JAMES R

CW2 James R. Johnson was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 02/14/2002 at the age of 54.2
Tacoma, WA
Flight Classes 71-19 and 71-17
Date of Birth 12/01/1947
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with 1 CAV in 71-72
This information was provided by SSN search 090108

More detail on this person: James Johnson, 54, formerly of Moscow James Ronald Johnson was born in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, on Dec. 1, 1947. Jimmy always had the life and vitality of the country in him, he got along beautifully with nature all of his life. An honor roll student in high school, the fleet-footed Jimmy also was a record-setting track star. In 1966, Jimmy married his lifelong love, Josephine, at the age of 19. Four years later, he joined the Army because he had always wanted to fly and in 1971 he received his wings. Later that year, he was sent to Vietnam where he served as a combat helicopter pilot. Highly decorated, he earned the military's highest honor for aviators, the Distinguished Flying Cross. He went on to earn the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars. Jim served with valor and honor. After the Army he earned his degree in aviation technology. Jim was an accomplished gardener, electrician, artist, craftsman and above all, an adventurer. He was kind, generous, soft spoken and had a great sense of humor. He supported many charities all his life. Those that loved him will greatly miss him. Jim is survived by sons, Samuel A. Johnson and Jared J. Johnson; daughters, Elizabeth Powell and Rachel K. Cruey; first wife, Josephine T. Miciotto; and friends, Francis, Wayne, Jessie, Max, beloved dog, Sarah and many others. Always a man of action, he died in a valiant attempt to rid himself of his addiction. He died free of alcohol. Memorial donations to Unicef, 333 East 38th Street, New York, NY 10016. Subject: Corrections and information From: "Jo Johnson" Date: Sun, June 23, 2019 5:13 pm To: "'- Jimmy'" -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Dear VHPA, My name is Josephine (Jo) Miciotto Johnson, and CW2 James Ronald Johnson was my husband. I wanted to offer some information and corrections to your data about him. First he was a CW2 when hehe left the Army in 1976. He was born in Marian, Virginia on December 1, in 1947 and died on Valentines Day in 2002. He served in the 1st Air Cavalry, and served in Vietnam from September 1971 through August 1972. His specialty was Cobra helicopters, but he flew mostly Hueys in Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Vietnamese Air Medal and a Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts in the Assault on An Loc in April of 1972. He loved to fly and missed it when he left the service. He was a talented artist and extremely creative, very smart. In his formative years, he lived in several places as his adoptive father was in the Navy and the family moved when a new assignment was issued. He lived in Virginia, N. Carolina, Tenessee and Maryland. He ran cross country as a young teenager. He was well-read and on the honor roll in high school. We wer married on July 2, 1966 and had two sons, Samuel and Jared born 1967 and 1968. He was the love of my life, a handsome, soft-spoken, intelligent, highly skilled pilot and creative man. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you. Jo Miciotto Johnson

Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

This information was last updated 06/27/2019

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Date posted on this site: 04/13/2025