Another war hero dies--
JOHNSON, GERALD W., 83, of St. Petersburg, died Monday (Sept. 9, 2002)
at the VA Medical Center at Bay Pines. Born in Owenton, Ky., he came
here in 2000 from Sarasota. He was an Air Force lieutenant general and
World War II fighter pilot ace, retiring in 1974 as inspector general of
the Air Force. In World War II, he fought with the 56th Fighter Group in
England. Flying the P-47 Thunderbolt, he shot down 18 enemy aircraft in
15 months before he was shot down. He spent 13 months as a POW. He also
was a veteran of the Korean War and commanded the 8th Air Force from
Guam during the Vietnam War. His autobiography, Called to Command, was
published in 1996. Survivors include his wife, Marjorie I.; a son,
Gerald W. Jr., Alpine, Texas; four daughters, Deborah A. Bennett,
Charlotte, N.C., Michelle Damon, Little Rock, Ark., Yvonne Leibold,
Carmel, Ind., and Christine Harrison, Great Falls, Va.; and 16
grandchildren. Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes & Cremation Tribute
Center-Ninth Street Chapel, St. Petersburg.