Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:06 | A good first step for future generations remembering something about Korea and Vietnam would be actually including them in history books. Allyn Johnson was involved in both conflicts and he is bothered by that. He also has some strong opinions on whether it was worth being involved.
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Allyn Johnson graduated high school in 1948 and went into the Air Force, figuring it would provide a secure future. He became an aircraft mechanic and then an instructor in rotary wing maintenance.
Allyn Johnson was an Air Force mechanic and instructor when he found out that he could apply for flight training. Now that was exciting. He had a phobia about acrobatics but he wanted to fly multi-engine aircraft so they let him slide on that part of the training. He went into Air Rescue because they had B-17's and he really wanted to fly one.
Air Rescue pilot Allyn Johnson spent a lot of time in the air off the coast of Korea waiting for someone to ask for help. The brass disapproved an award when he successfully rescued some downed Navy airmen but the Navy presented him with a special gift.
After flying multi-engine transports and passenger aircraft for years, pilot Allyn Johnson decided to retire from the Air Force. He put in his papers but the Air Force still needed him in Vietnam. He went from flying the huge planes to the tiny ones as a Forward Air Controller.
There wasn't a lot of enemy activity in IV Corps at the time, so FAC pilot Allyn Johnson was given some odd missions. He was sent to observe and report on a B-52 strike but, as they flew the mission, he noticed something unusual.
As a pilot for the Special Air Mission unit, Allyn Johnson flew many government VIP's around including Lyndon Johnson. The president was a little grumpy.
As an Air Force pilot, Allyn Johnson flew the big transports like C-97's and C-124's. After flying the long Pacific routes, he was transferred to the Special Air Missions unit which provided air transportation for VIP's and executives.
After retiring from the Air Force, Allyn Johnson acquired several college degrees thanks to the GI Bill. He tried running his own business but it wasn't long before he and his wife really retired.
