Richard W. Johnson, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, June 3, 2004: Saving the Legacy tape no. 654

Transcript (48 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloyd with Richard W. Johnson on June 3, 2004. From tape number 654 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project

Mr. Johnson was born on July 21, 1923, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He graduated South High School in 1940 and attended the University of Utah studying engineering. He was allowed to defer enlistment until the spring of 1944 when he graduated for college and entered the Navy as an ensign. Traveled to Fort Schulyer, New York, for naval indoctrination school, then was sent to Harvard University for advanced studies in electrical engineering from December 1944 to March 1945. He then attended radar school at MIT from March 1945 to June 1945. His next assignment was to Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York. When the war ended, he was ordered to Pearl Harbor where he was assigned to the USS Wisconsin BB-64 ferrying returning GIs to San Francisco. He was the electronics officer in charge of radar onboard the Wisconsin. He describes his experiences during that time. The Wisconsin traveled through the Panama Canal to Norfolk, Virginia, for repairs. While waiting for repairs, he was assigned to a different ship on training maneuvers for a month. He describes his experiences there. He separated from the Navy in September 1946, but stayed in the Naval Reserves for a few years following. Mr. Johnson worked for Hughes Aircraft as an electrical engineer. Interviewed by Becky Lloyd. 48 pages.