Dwight Johns
Encyclopedia
Brigadier General
Dwight Frederick Johns (16 May 1894 – 8 November 1977) was an American
soldier
and general in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the South West Pacific Area
during World War II
, where he headed the Advance Base and the Combined Operations Service Command during the Kokoda Track campaign
and the Battle of Buna-Gona
. He later commanded the Advance Base at Lae and Finschhafen, and the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir
. After the war he headed the Pacific Engineer Division, where he was responsible for a number of important flood control and irrigation projects.
on 16 May 1894. He entered the United States Military Academy
at West Point as an appointee from Illinois in 1912 and graduated sixth in the class of 1916. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers
in June 1916.
from November 1916 to February 1917, when the 8th Engineers returned to El Paso, Texas
. Johns was promoted to captain in May 1917 and major
in May 1918. He commanded the 8th Engineers from April to August 1918. Returning to the United States Military Academy in August 1918, he became an instructor in Drawing
from August to December 1918, and in Tactics
from November to December 1918. From December 1918 to mid-1919 he was an instructor in Mathematics
.
, from which he graduated in June 1922 with a Bachelor of Science
degree, majoring in civil engineering. He then became Assistant District Engineer of the Detroit River
and Harbour District. In 1924 he was posted to the 11th Engineers, based in the Panama Canal Zone
. He returned to the United States in 1927 to take up an appointment in the Office of the Chief of Engineers
. From 1931 to 1933 he was a student at the Command and General Staff College
at Fort Leavenworth
. After graduating, he became District Engineer at St Paul, Minnesota. On 1 July 1937, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel
. He attended the U.S. Army War College
from 1937 to 1938, then became at instructor at the Command and General Staff College.
The 21st Engineers were assigned the task of investigating techniques for the rapid construction of air bases. As such, Johns was involved in the development of a number of new construction techniques, most notably the use of Marston Mat
.
His expertise in airbase construction led to Johns being sent to the South West Pacific
as Chief Engineer, American Forces in Java
. Departing Washington, D.C.
by air on 14 January 1942, Johns arrived in Surabaya
nine days later. His first mission was to provide airfield facilities on Java for 2,000 aircraft. Tapping into the vast resources of labour available in one of the world's most densely populated regions, Johns set about readying the required airfields. However, Java was captured by the Japanese
before the aircraft arrived.
Johns reached Australia
on 28 February 1942 and became Chief Engineer, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), with the rank of brigadier general
. As such, Johns represented the US Army on the Allied Works Council, the body controlling and coordinating all construction activities in Australia. With the arrival in Australia of General
Douglas MacArthur
, Brigadier General Hugh John Casey
, who had accompanied MacArthur from the Philippines, became Chief Engineer at General Headquarters (GHQ), South West Pacific Area (SWPA). Johns, who was in an earlier class at West Point than Casey, remained Chief of Engineers, USAFIA until 25 May 1942, when he became Chief of Staff of US Army Services of Supply
(USASOS).
When the Kokoda Track campaign
became mired in logistical difficulties, MacArthur and General
Sir Thomas Blamey
agreed to establish a Combined Operations Service Command (COSC) under New Guinea Force
to co-ordinate logistical activities in Papua-New Guinea. Johns was designated commander of both COSC and the Advance Base, New Guinea on 8 October 1942. He was given an Australian deputy, Brigadier
Victor Secombe, a Royal Australian Engineers
officer. All Australian and American logistical units were placed under COSC but Johns chose to exercise command of the Australian units through Secombe. They built an organization that "was a radical departure from that which the Australian Army considered normal administrative procedure, but was adequately to meet the novel demands of a campaign in a country lacking roads and railways, in which all transport had to be by sea or air, and in which often the administrative or base areas coincided with the operational areas." Johns later wrote that:
Johns impressed Australian officers with his sensitive handling of inter-Allied issues, his co-operative nature, and his ability to get the job done. Lieutenant General
Edmund Herring
, who came to regard Johns as a close friend, later described Johns and Secombe as "born co-operators." One of Johns' most important decisions involved the construction of a new deep-water berth for Liberty ship
s at Tatana Island. This involved building a causeway out to the island. The project would double the capacity of the port of Port Moresby
, but in order to build it Johns had to divert the African-American 96th Engineers from work on the airfields around Port Moresby, raising fears from airmen like Brigadier General Ennis Whitehead
that the airfields would not be ready for all-weather operations by the time that the rainy season arrived. Rains in late October did indeed close three airfields but the causeway opened on 30 October and the wharf accepted its first ship on 3 November.
Johns relinquished his roles in Papua
and resumed his former post at USASOS in March 1943, being replaced by Brigadier General Hanford MacNider
. In turn, he replaced MacNider as GHQ Coordinator, Milne Bay
in October 1943. As such, he was responsible for all logistical activities at what was now the major US base in Papua-New Guinea. On 15 December 1943, he became Coordinator, Finschhafen. Finschhafen was destined to become the new hub of US activity in Papua-New Guinea; but an enormous amount of work was required to get the base ready for action. For his service in New Guinea, Johns was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
.
In 1944, Johns became commandant of the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir
. The wartime Engineer School was responsible for the training of officers. Some were engineers in civilian life who were trained as officers; other were officers transferred from other arms who were given training in engineering subjects. The Officer Candidate School (OCS) prepared enlisted men for commissioning as officers. There had been strong criticism of the content of training courses from SWPA, where it was the norm for machinery to be operated around the clock and for engineer officers to supervise all manner of construction tasks. The commanders there felt that the training courses taught by the Engineer School were concentrating too much on leadership in combat, and not enough on technical matters, such the operation and maintenance of construction equipment. Johns reformed the curriculum, but by this time it was too late for the changes to have much effect in the overseas theaters of operations. For his work at Fort Belvoir, Johns was awarded the Legion of Merit
.
for Military Operations from June 1945 to March 1947. He reverted to his permanent rank of colonel
in March 1946. In June 1947 Johns became commander of the Pacific Engineer Division, based in San Francisco, responsible for the southern half of the Pacific coast. As such he was involved with a number of important construction projects, including the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel
, the Folsom Dam
, the Isabella Dam
, the Pine Flat Lake
, and the Merced River
projects. Johns retired from the army as a brigadier general on 31 December 1949. In retirement, Johns was awarded the Gold Medal from the Society of American Military Engineers
in 1950, and served as its president in 1953. Johns maintained the wartime friendships he had made, and with his wife Laura he entertained Australian general Sir Edmund Herring
in their home in Los Angeles
in 1967. Johns died on 8 November 1977.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Dwight Frederick Johns (16 May 1894 – 8 November 1977) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and general in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, where he headed the Advance Base and the Combined Operations Service Command during the Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
and the Battle of Buna-Gona
Battle of Buna-Gona
The Battle of Buna–Gona was a battle in the New Guinea campaign, a major part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. On 16 November 1942, Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. Both forces were riddled by disease and...
. He later commanded the Advance Base at Lae and Finschhafen, and the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
. After the war he headed the Pacific Engineer Division, where he was responsible for a number of important flood control and irrigation projects.
Education and early life
Dwight Frederick Johns was born in Rockford, IllinoisRockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
on 16 May 1894. He entered the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point as an appointee from Illinois in 1912 and graduated sixth in the class of 1916. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
in June 1916.
World War I
Johns initially served at the United States Military Academy as an instructor in the Department of Tactics but in July 1916 he was posted to the 1st Battalion of Mounted Engineers on the Mexican Border. He served with the Pancho Villa ExpeditionPancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
from November 1916 to February 1917, when the 8th Engineers returned to El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. Johns was promoted to captain in May 1917 and major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
in May 1918. He commanded the 8th Engineers from April to August 1918. Returning to the United States Military Academy in August 1918, he became an instructor in Drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
from August to December 1918, and in Tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
from November to December 1918. From December 1918 to mid-1919 he was an instructor in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
.
Between the wars
Like most officers in the aftermath of World war I, Johns was reduced in rank to his substantive rank of captain in August 1919, but was promoted to major again in February 1921. In June 1921 he entered the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, from which he graduated in June 1922 with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree, majoring in civil engineering. He then became Assistant District Engineer of the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
and Harbour District. In 1924 he was posted to the 11th Engineers, based in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. He returned to the United States in 1927 to take up an appointment in the Office of the Chief of Engineers
Chief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....
. From 1931 to 1933 he was a student at the Command and General Staff College
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as a...
at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
. After graduating, he became District Engineer at St Paul, Minnesota. On 1 July 1937, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
. He attended the U.S. Army War College
U.S. Army War College
The United States Army War College is a United States Army school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks...
from 1937 to 1938, then became at instructor at the Command and General Staff College.
World War II
In 1940 Johns became commanding officer of the 21st Engineers.The 21st Engineers were assigned the task of investigating techniques for the rapid construction of air bases. As such, Johns was involved in the development of a number of new construction techniques, most notably the use of Marston Mat
Marsden Matting
Marsden Matting is standardized, perforated steel matting material originally developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the rapid construction of temporary runways and landing strips...
.
His expertise in airbase construction led to Johns being sent to the South West Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
as Chief Engineer, American Forces in Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
. Departing Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
by air on 14 January 1942, Johns arrived in Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
nine days later. His first mission was to provide airfield facilities on Java for 2,000 aircraft. Tapping into the vast resources of labour available in one of the world's most densely populated regions, Johns set about readying the required airfields. However, Java was captured by the Japanese
Battle of Java (1942)
The Battle of Java was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred on the island of Java from 28 February-12 March 1942. It involved forces from the Empire of Japan, which invaded on 28 February 1942, and Allied personnel...
before the aircraft arrived.
Johns reached Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 28 February 1942 and became Chief Engineer, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), with the rank of brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
. As such, Johns represented the US Army on the Allied Works Council, the body controlling and coordinating all construction activities in Australia. With the arrival in Australia of General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, Brigadier General Hugh John Casey
Hugh John Casey
Hugh John Casey was a Major General in the United States Army. A 1918 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Casey served in Germany during the Occupation of the Rhineland...
, who had accompanied MacArthur from the Philippines, became Chief Engineer at General Headquarters (GHQ), South West Pacific Area (SWPA). Johns, who was in an earlier class at West Point than Casey, remained Chief of Engineers, USAFIA until 25 May 1942, when he became Chief of Staff of US Army Services of Supply
Services of Supply
The Services Of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supply became one of the three autonomous components of the...
(USASOS).
When the Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
became mired in logistical difficulties, MacArthur and General
General (Australia)
General is the second highest rank, and the highest active rank, of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of General; it is also considered a four-star rank....
Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
agreed to establish a Combined Operations Service Command (COSC) under New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, territory of Papua and territory of New Guinea troops serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942 it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944,...
to co-ordinate logistical activities in Papua-New Guinea. Johns was designated commander of both COSC and the Advance Base, New Guinea on 8 October 1942. He was given an Australian deputy, Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Victor Secombe, a Royal Australian Engineers
Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers is a corps of the Australian Army . The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Staff Cadets, Armoured and Artillery Corps...
officer. All Australian and American logistical units were placed under COSC but Johns chose to exercise command of the Australian units through Secombe. They built an organization that "was a radical departure from that which the Australian Army considered normal administrative procedure, but was adequately to meet the novel demands of a campaign in a country lacking roads and railways, in which all transport had to be by sea or air, and in which often the administrative or base areas coincided with the operational areas." Johns later wrote that:
Johns impressed Australian officers with his sensitive handling of inter-Allied issues, his co-operative nature, and his ability to get the job done. Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Edmund Herring
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...
, who came to regard Johns as a close friend, later described Johns and Secombe as "born co-operators." One of Johns' most important decisions involved the construction of a new deep-water berth for Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
s at Tatana Island. This involved building a causeway out to the island. The project would double the capacity of the port of Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, but in order to build it Johns had to divert the African-American 96th Engineers from work on the airfields around Port Moresby, raising fears from airmen like Brigadier General Ennis Whitehead
Ennis Whitehead
Ennis Clement Whitehead was an early United States Army aviator and a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. Whitehead joined the U. S. Army after the United States entered World War I in 1917...
that the airfields would not be ready for all-weather operations by the time that the rainy season arrived. Rains in late October did indeed close three airfields but the causeway opened on 30 October and the wharf accepted its first ship on 3 November.
Johns relinquished his roles in Papua
Papua (Australian territory)
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea...
and resumed his former post at USASOS in March 1943, being replaced by Brigadier General Hanford MacNider
Hanford MacNider
Hanford “Jack” MacNider was a United States diplomat and United States Army General, serving in both World War I and World War II. He was a Scottish Rite Freemason.-Biography:...
. In turn, he replaced MacNider as GHQ Coordinator, Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
in October 1943. As such, he was responsible for all logistical activities at what was now the major US base in Papua-New Guinea. On 15 December 1943, he became Coordinator, Finschhafen. Finschhafen was destined to become the new hub of US activity in Papua-New Guinea; but an enormous amount of work was required to get the base ready for action. For his service in New Guinea, Johns was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
.
In 1944, Johns became commandant of the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
. The wartime Engineer School was responsible for the training of officers. Some were engineers in civilian life who were trained as officers; other were officers transferred from other arms who were given training in engineering subjects. The Officer Candidate School (OCS) prepared enlisted men for commissioning as officers. There had been strong criticism of the content of training courses from SWPA, where it was the norm for machinery to be operated around the clock and for engineer officers to supervise all manner of construction tasks. The commanders there felt that the training courses taught by the Engineer School were concentrating too much on leadership in combat, and not enough on technical matters, such the operation and maintenance of construction equipment. Johns reformed the curriculum, but by this time it was too late for the changes to have much effect in the overseas theaters of operations. For his work at Fort Belvoir, Johns was awarded the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
.
Later life
Johns was Assistant Chief of EngineersChief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....
for Military Operations from June 1945 to March 1947. He reverted to his permanent rank of colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in March 1946. In June 1947 Johns became commander of the Pacific Engineer Division, based in San Francisco, responsible for the southern half of the Pacific coast. As such he was involved with a number of important construction projects, including the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel
Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel
The Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel is a canal from the Port of Sacramento in Sacramento, California to the Sacramento River, which flows into San Francisco Bay. It was completed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1963...
, the Folsom Dam
Folsom Dam
Folsom Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the American River in Northern California, about northeast of Sacramento. Folsom Dam is high concrete and long, flanked by earthen wing dams...
, the Isabella Dam
Isabella Dam
Isabella Dam is an embankment dam located about halfway down the Kern River, between the towns of Kernville and Lake Isabella in Kern County, California. Isabella Dam serves agricultural, hydroelectric, and flood control uses.-History:...
, the Pine Flat Lake
Pine Flat Lake
Pine Flat Lake is an artificial lake in the Sierra Nevada foothills of eastern Fresno County, California and provides the western north-south border to the Sierra- and Sequoia National Forests, about east of Fresno....
, and the Merced River
Merced River
The Merced River , in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley. It is most well known for its swift and steep course through the southern part of Yosemite National Park, and the...
projects. Johns retired from the army as a brigadier general on 31 December 1949. In retirement, Johns was awarded the Gold Medal from the Society of American Military Engineers
Society of American Military Engineers
The Society of American Military Engineers is an organization for military engineering professionals. According to its , SAME was formed “in the interest of National Defense… bringing together all phases of U.S...
in 1950, and served as its president in 1953. Johns maintained the wartime friendships he had made, and with his wife Laura he entertained Australian general Sir Edmund Herring
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...
in their home in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1967. Johns died on 8 November 1977.