In September 1950, Albert Joseph Johnson was a crewmember aboard a four-engine Douglas R5D Skymaster passenger plane assigned to Fleet Tactical Support Squadron Twenty-One (VR-21) which departed Honolulu enroute to Japan.  Aboard the plane were 26 naval personnel, including 11 Navy nurses who were bound for duty at the Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan.  The plane made three refueling stops, the final being at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.  In the early morning hours of September 19, 1950, the plane departed Kwajalein but about a minute later it crashed and exploded offshore.  The cause of the accident was not determined but it is speculated that the night takeoff with no moon or moonlight may have been a contributing factor.  A rescue party arrived at the scene within minutes but found only four bodies and a few personal possessions.  There were no survivors, and the accident marked the largest single loss of Navy nurses in the history of the Navy and was one of the greatest tragedies ever to befall the Navy Medical Department.

AEM3 Johnson was one of the casualties and his body was not recovered.  Readily available historical records report he was born June 10, 1924 in Iota, Iowa, and was a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War.  He lived in Beaumont, Texas, most of his life.  He was survived by his wife and five siblings.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)