Johnson, Oscar Albert

Date of birth:: January 20th, 1924 (Ardill/Saskatchewan, Canada)
Date of death:: February 26th, 1997
Service number:: L105651
Nationality:: Canadian

Biography

He was born at Ardill, Saskatchewan in 1924. He and his family moved to a homestead near Smeaton Sask in the early 1930's. He joined the Regina Rifles in 1943. After his basic training he was sent off to England. His first taste of war was D-Day June 6, 1944. He was only 20 years old. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field on D-Day. King George VI awarded the medal to him and pinned it on his chest in person. He was wounded twice not seriously however. He carried shrapnel in the back of his neck for the rest of his life. He was in France, Normandy, Belgium and Germany.

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Military Medal (MM)

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Rifleman
Unit:: 1st Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Canadian Army

Recommendation:
This Rifleman crawled forward the full length of the beach on D-Day under heavy enemy machine gun fire, cutting his way through six feet of wire which obstacle was being directly covered by small arms. He then went back and assumed the leadership of the remainder of his section, leading them through the wire into the enemy slit trenches, clearing them of enemy and enabling the remainder of the company to move forward into the safety of these slit trenches.
From there he continued to move forward as a sniper, well ahead of his company. The latter was done entirely on his own initiative and he displayed rare courage and resourcefulness; at no time previously had he ever had charge of a section of men.