DOB/DOD: September 26, 1926 (Hartford, CT) – March 22, 1945; 18 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: 61 Trudeau Street, Hartford
ENLISTMENT: June 5, 1944, in Hartford, at 17 years old
SERVICE NUMBER: 569250
UNIT: Company F, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0521, Basic Marine
FAMILY: Born to Lithuanian parents, Juozapas “Joseph” Johnson (1893-1950) and Adella (Adeline) Szatas (1893-1970). Private Johnson was the youngest of three children. Siblings are Josephine Johnson Sheltz (1916-1948), and Anthony (1924-1980). Brother Anthony served in the U.S. Army. 1, 2
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. Infantry training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Assigned to the 34th Replacement Draft of the 3rd Marine Division and then the 9th Marines, 2nd Battalion, Company F. 5 Private Johnson was in the Marine Corps for 9 months.
Bulkeley High School (Hartford), Class of ’44 3
From The Hartford Courant on June 16, 1948
The body of Private Edward J. Johnson, 18, who was killed on Iwo Jima on March 22, 1945, will be returned to Hartford today. Private Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Johnson of 61 Trudeau Street, was killed in his first battle while serving with the Third Marine Division. His body will arrive at 2:30 p.m. Private Johnson was born in Hartford. He enlisted in the Marines immediately after graduation from Bulkeley High School. Besides his parents, he leaves a brother, Anthony, a sister, Mrs. Josephine Sheltz, an uncle, Anthony Shatus, and two nephews, all of Hartford. Services will be held at the Laraia and Sagarino Funeral Home, 247 Washington Street, Thursday at 8:15 a.m., with a solemn requiem mass at Holy Trinity Church at 9. Burial will be in Soldiers Field, Northwood Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p.m.
Initially buried in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Plot 1, Row 38, Grave 188. At his father’s request, his remains were to have been returned for burial in Long Island National Cemetery but were buried on June 18, 1948, in Northwood Cemetery, 81 Matianuck Avenue, Windsor, Connecticut; Section AA, Lot 22. 4Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
The headstones for all four who died in the Battle of Iwo Jima and are buried in Northwood Cemetery are near each other.
1 – 1930 census https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/
2 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
3 – https://classmates.com/yearbooks
4 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request
5 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/