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Dwight H. Johnson
 Listen to Medal of Honor Presentation Ceremony
Rank and Organization: Specialist
Fifth Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 1st Battalion, 69th
Armor, 4th Infantry Division.
Place and Date: Near Dak To,
Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 15 January 1968.
Entered Service At: Detriot, Mich.
Born: 7 May 1947, Detroit, Mich.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the
risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp5c.
Johnson, a tank driver with Company B, was a member of a
reaction force moving to aid other elements of his platoon,
which was in heavy contact with a battalion size North
Vietnamese force. Sp5c. Johnson's tank, upon reaching the
point of contact, threw a track and became immobilized.
Realizing that he could do no more as a driver, he climbed out
of the vehicle, armed only with a .45 caliber pistol. Despite
intense hostile fire, Sp5c. Johnson killed several enemy soldiers
before he had expended his ammunition. Returning to his tank
through a heavy volume of antitank rocket, small arms and
automatic weapons fire, he obtained a submachinegun with
which to continue his fight against the advancing enemy. Armed
with this weapon, Sp5c. Johnson again braved deadly enemy
fire to return to the center of the ambush site where he
courageously eliminated more of the determined foe. Engaged
in extremely close combat when the last of his ammunition was
expended, he killed an enemy soldier with the stock end of his
submachinegun. Now weaponless, Sp5c. Johnson ignored the
enemy fire around him, climbed into his platoon sergeant's tank,
extricated a wounded crewmember and carried him to an
armored personnel carrier. He then returned to the same tank
and assisted in firing the main gun until it jammed. In a
magnificent display of courage, Sp5c. Johnson exited the tank
and again armed only with a .45 caliber pistol, engaged several
North Vietnamese troops in close proximity to the vehicle.
Fighting his way through devastating fire and remounting his
own immobilized tank, he remained fully exposed to the enemy
as he bravely and skillfully engaged them with the tank's
externally-mounted .50 caliber machinegun; where he remained
until the situation was brought under control. Sp5c. Johnson's
profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the
highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit
upon himself and the U.S. Army.
Source: Department
of Defense.
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy.
Black Americans in Defense of Our Nation.
Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1985.
Dwight H. Johnson in Vietnam
Source: http://www.rjsmith.com/images/dwight-johnson.jpg
Standing on platform (L-R:) Spc-4 Gary Wetzel, Spc-5 Dwight H. Johnson, Sgt. Sammy Davis,
Capt. James Taylor, Capt. Angelo Liteky, and President Lyndon B. Johnson
Source: LBJ Library photo by Yoichi R. Okamoto.
President Lyndon B. Johnson puts the Medal of Honor on Spc-5 Dwight H. Johnson
as Col. James Robinson (center) looks on.
Source: LBJ Library photo by Yoichi R. Okamoto.
Dwight H. Johnson, May 7, 1947 - April 30, 1971
© Raymond L. Collins
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Cole, Tom. "Medal of Honor Rag." In James Reston (Ed.) Coming to Terms: American
Plays and the Vietnam War. New York, NY: Theatre Communications Group, 1985. P. 141-178.
Davis, Peter. "Vietnam: Thirty Years On." (April 26, 2005)
The Nation. Retrieved April 27, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.thenation.com/
doc.mhtml?i=20050509&s=davis.
DeRose, David J. (Spring 1989). "Soldados Razos: Issues of Race in Vietnam War Drama."
Vietnam Generation, 1(2), 38-55.
"Dwight Johnson." In Allen Mikaelian with commentary by Mike Wallace. Medal of Honor:
Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present. New York, NY:
Hyperion, 2002. P. 241-255.
"Merchant Who Slew Hero Wounds Robbery Suspect."
New York Times, October 28, 1971. P. 23.
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Nordheimer, Jon. "From Dakto to Detroit: Death of a Troubled Hero."
New York Times, May 25, 1971. P. 1.
Presentation Ceremony at The White House, November 19, 1968. President Johnson Presents
Medal of Honor to Five Members of the United States Army. Citation for Dwight H.
Johnson read by Secretary of the Army Stanley R. Resor.
 
Rosett, Henry L. "The Post-Vietnam Syndrome." [Letter to the Editor]
New York Times, June 12, 1971. P. 28.
Van Gelder, Lawrence. "'Medal of Honor Rag': The Dark Didn't End in Vietnam."
New York Times, Retrieved February 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nytimes.com.
"Vietnam's Heartbreak Played Out in a Hero's Tragedy."
The Los Angeles Times, November 11, 2000, p. B1.
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