Reed Talmage Johnson, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, September 2, 2004: Saving the Legacy tape no. 710

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RE D T LMAGE JOHN 0 T B R 2 2004 to th fleet hospital. This is a true part of the story too. I went in to thi th (n t d t r. I had orders that the doctor gave me. A doctor was sitting at a desk. I walked in th r . He had my orders in his hand. He looked at me and he looked up and straightened up. I'll never forget the look on his face. He just looked at the papers again and looked back at me and looked at the paper and then shook his head. The next words he said were, "How long have you been out here?" "Two and a half years." "Two and a half years?" I said, "Yes, sir." END OF SIDE A BEC: Okay. REE: "Yes, two and a half years." He said, "Well, did they send you down to Australia or New Caledonia or someplace for R&R ?" I said, "What are you talking about?" He said, "Well, they should have given you some kind ofR&R and liberty or something." I said, "I haven't had any liberty since I was in school in Farragut, Idaho." He said, "Oh, my." He didn't even examine me at that time. He said, "How long would it take for you to go back to your ship and get your personal gear over here?" I said, "I don't know how long. Why?" Then he said the magic words. The (atom) bomb had been dropped by that time. The war was over. He said, "The sooner you get back over here, the sooner we're flying you home." I said, "It won't take very damned long." So I left. I made a lot of mistakes. I got my gear and left that dock and never even stopped to say goodbye to all my friends. That was a real mistake. 22