John E. Johnson was born in Houston, Mississippi in December 1926, and lived there until he was six years old. During the Great Depression, his father, a plumber, moved the family to Vardaman, about ten miles away. He went to school and lived there until he was drafted in 1944. Four of his brothers were already in the service, and because no one had yet joined the Navy, Johnson was persuaded to do so. Johnson went to boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, then trained for amphibious forces at Fort Pierce, Florida. The Navy was converting destroyer escorts into APDs [Annotator's Note: high speed transport ships], and Johnson was assigned to the USS Liddle (APD-60).

John E. Johnson went aboard the USS Liddle (ADP-60) in New York in September 1944, and sailed through the Panama Canal on the way to Leyte. The Allies had just invaded the Philippines, and the Liddle was among six ships transporting troops to where they were needed. After dropping troops on the beach, the Liddle was on picket duty in Ormoc Bay when Johnson saw his first live action. The ship's gunners shot down one or two airplanes, but a Kamikaze hit the bridge and killed about 35 men, including the captain, the executive officer and the ship's doctor. The first lieutenant took over the ship, and decided to save it, and he did. The original coxswain went missing, and Johnson took over that position, and that's where he stayed for the rest of the war. The ship limped back to the United States for repairs, then went back on the firing line.

John E. Johnson described accommodations on the APD [Annotator's Note: Johnson served aboard the high speed transport USS Liddle (APD-60)] as racks with mattresses, six high, that folded up. The vessel carried about 150 troops in addition to the crew of about 325. There were six specialized scouts and raiders that stayed on board as well. Johnson's duties included steering the ship, rigorous but interesting work for an 18 year old, and chipping paint and keeping the decks clean. Johnson hated that job. When Johnson shipped out of New York, he passed the Statue of Liberty, and found the experience very exciting. The crew did some training in Chesapeake Bay, practicing the procedure for launching the LCVPs [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel also referred to as Higgins Boats]. After getting anchorage, they would take the boats out of their divots and disembark them. The soldiers got down onto the boats using cargo nets, each LCVP carrying a total of 36 men. Johnson said they were effective vessels for the job. The USS Liddle (ADP-60) escorted LCTs [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Tank] and LCIs [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Infantry] to New Guinea, then to the Philippines, then to Palau, and back to the Philippines, all the while screening with Sonar. Until they went back to the Philippines, the vessel had no contacts, although they dropped some depth charges, and Johnson wondered when they might see some action.

John E. Johnson said he got along with everybody on his ship. He reluctantly exposed the fact that the USS Liddle (ADP-60)’s captain liked to gamble. When the vessel was not in action, the announcement, “All interested officers lay up to the ward room,” would sometimes come over the ship’s speakers after the evening meal. There they played cards and other gambling games. If the officers did it, the crew took it to mean they could do it too—in their own berthing spaces. Johnson wasn’t a big gambler; he said he got over that real early in life; because he didn’t win, he figured he’d better quit. There was very little leisure time, but when in port, there was usually a movie for entertainment. The ports passed reels around so there would be some variety in the movies the sailors watched. The Liddle could also boast possession of a little phonograph, and about five or six records that they played over and over. At night the Pacific could be calm and beautiful, especially if there was a big moon.

At Ormoc Bay, John E. Johnson drove his LCVP [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel also referred to as Higgins Boats] to shore and unloaded the Army combat troops he was ferrying, then went back to his ship to continue on picket duty. When the Japanese aerial attack began, the USS Liddle (ADP-60) snapped into action and shot several planes out of the air, and, Johnson said, there was one more plane destroyed, the one that dove into the Liddle's superstructure. Johnson was at his general quarters station, below decks with the repair group on the aft auxiliary steering gear. He could hear something going on, but had no information while attack was happening, and then all communications systems were knocked out. Johnson said the crew members were repeatedly cautioned not to be "a gawker," and he feels that many got killed ignoring that advice. When the ship was hit, Johnson said there was a big noise, and the telephone he was on went dead. While other guys ran up to man fire hoses, Johnson stayed with the fellow working the steering gear, relaying messages to and from the deck. Eventually Johnson ventured up to help the 1st Class Pharmacist who took over for the dead doctor. The sight on deck made Johnson sick. One of his LCVP boat crew was laid out, face white, lifeless. Afterward, they transferred the dead, dying and wounded to a hospital ship. The deceased were moved to a national burial site there in the Philippines, and Johnson thinks they remain there still. Johnson said the experience was agonizing. [Annotator's Note: Johnson takes a reflective pause.] Johnson claimed the crew had only once before seen a Kamikaze plane, when they came into Leyte Gulf. It idled right into the middle of the American ships. They could not fire at it because there were too many ships around, and the pilot slinked off. After things settled some, the crew tried to rig up the ship as best they could, and steered by telephone transmission to Ulithi. There, they repaired communications cables, so the ship could limp back to Hawaii, then on to Mare Island. The crew got 14 days' leave, but was called back early. The shipyard had requisitioned drawings from the Maine facility that built the boat, and the superstructure was refitted in record time. Eight days into his leave, Johnson got a telegram to return to the ship. It was ready to go.

John E. Johnson went back to the ship, but not all his crewmates did. After replacements came from a nearby receiving station, they were once again underway. Johnson said going back to the Pacific was "a little hairy." There were more Kamikaze planes than ever out there. Johnson's duties remained the same, as did the ship's purpose, escorting ships and transporting troops. The USS Liddle (ADP-60) did four or five small operations around Borneo and Ulithi and other smaller islands that needed mopping up. Johnson remembers going into Borneo with troops, and looking over at another small boat near a seaplane that had just landed. Out of the plane came a guy smoking a corncob pipe, and Johnson knew it had to be General MacArthur [Annotator's Note: US Army General Douglas MacArthur]. The Liddle began transporting Australian troops at that time. Johnson recalled their preference for hot beer. After the invasions at Borneo, where there was still some nasty fighting going on, the Americans began training for the invasion of Japan. Johnson said he knew that was going to be rough, and was glad it didn't have to happen. The Liddle's crew learned about the dropping of the atomic bomb and the Japanese surrender through the ship's communications system. He said those announcements were really something. The Liddle was then sent to escort destroyers at Okinawa, and continued to Korea and China to collect prisoners of war. Johnson described sailing through the mine-laden East China and Yellow Seas as "hairy." The Liddle had troops stationed on the decks with rifles, and when a mine popped up, it would be exploded by gunshot.

John E. Johnson's ship [Annotator's Note: USS Liddle (APD-60)] stayed in China for a few weeks, mostly for rest and relaxation, which he said he really enjoyed. The Liddle left China in November 1945, and took five weeks to return to the States, by way of Okinawa, where it was escorting freighters and picking up stragglers. It was then that Johnson experienced his first big typhoon. He remembers being on the helm, struggling to steady the ship through huge waves, the ship listing dramatically. The storm lasted three days. At some point, the captain radioed that it was too difficult to remain with the other ships, and request the Liddle be to cut loose to weather the storm on its own. The Liddle wound up in the South China Sea. The ship went back to the United States, arriving in New York Harbor on New Year's Day 1946. Johnson said it was beautiful to see the Statue of Liberty once again. He was discharged shortly afterward at the rank of Seaman 1st Class. Johnson went to work with his dad, but decided a career in plumbing didn't suit him, and he longed to see more of the world. Most of all, he still wanted to be an electrician so he re-enlisted. He was assigned to the USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) bound for Antarctica with Admiral Byrd's last expedition to the South Pole. Johnson started on his new career as a Fireman 1st Class, and was soon an interior communications electrician. He studied hard, knew the material almost verbatim when he tested, and was made third class electrician [Annotator's Note: Electrician's Mate 3rd Class]. He noted the big difference in being in the Navy in peacetime was that he no longer had to man battle stations. Johnson served on three successive ships: the USS Saipan (CVL-48), the USS Midway (CV-41), with a stint at shore duty in Las Cruses, New Mexico at the White Sands Proving Grounds, and the USS Antietam (CG-54), before retiring off the USS Lexington (CV-16) in Pensacola, Florida in August 1964 as an Interior Communications Electrician Chief.

John E. Johnson fought in World War 2 because he had to. He was drafted. Johnson acknowledges the war changed his life by giving him an education, a career, and a wonderful life. He does not believe Americans of today think much about the war anymore, because it was so long ago. Even he, someone who was part of it, seldom wears his Navy veteran cap, although he is proud of his service. He remembers sadly an Army friend he lost at the Battle of the Bulge, and thinks it important that institutions like The National WWII Museum and the memorial in Washington D.C. keep the memory of all those who served alive. He asserts that it was the ultimate war, the biggest ever, and he appreciates those who keep the story going.