MALTA — On Dec. 12, Yngve “Morry” Johnson, a World War II veteran and longtime Malta/Creston-area corn, soybean and livestock farmer, passed away at the age of 99. 

Johnson’s military service included serving in the US Army during World War II in the Pacific Front from April 3, 1944 to April 11, 1946. 

He saw basic training in Fort Custer, Michigan and combat engineer training in Fort Lewis, Washington. He sailed on a liberty ship from Fort Lewis to Enewetak Island then onto Okinawa Island, where he drove a truck hauling rock to extend the existing runway so that damaged     B-29 bombers returning from Japan could land rather than ditch in the ocean. After the war ended, he was sent to Korea to help rebuild after the Japanese destruction from their invasion of Korea.

On April 6, 1944, Johnson left Sycamore for the U.S. Army induction center at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Later the same day, he boarded a train for Fort Custer, Michigan, where he endured six weeks of basic training. Because of his photographic memory, he was selected to become a combat military policeman and spent another nine weeks of advanced training in small arms from the Colt 1911 pistol to the 50-caliber machine gun.

Johnson’s son, Kevin, said that during basic training, Yngve was asked to walk through a room and later identify everything he saw in it. After he scored well, his photographic memory came to light. That skill would help him through the remainder of his life, especially with building his farming expertise. 

Johnson then boarded a train to Fort Lewis with 300 other recruits. As they approached Three Forks, Montana, a box car axle caught fire and the car was left on a spur in Three Forks. After arrival at Fort Lewis, the new commander was informed that all their records were left in three Forks, Montana, on a box car. It was decided that the recruits would get a 10-day pass plus travel time until the situation could be sorted out.

When Johnson arrived back at Fort Lewis after his short vacation, he was transferred to the 1778th Engineer Headquarters Service Company and trained for 12 weeks as a combat engineer, due to the fact that the records were never found.

After all training, Johnson boarded a liberty ship with 1,200 other troops. The ship was loaded beyond capacity, so it was unable to keep up with the convoy. It took the ship 41 days to get to Okinawa with a 10-day layover in Anowetok waiting for destroyer escorts because of the threat of Japanese submarines.

Both that delay and the one caused by the records loss may have saved Yngve’s life, as troops that arrived earlier suffered numerous casualties.

Once the ship arrived at Okinawa, they anchored in Naha Harbor. While anchored, Johnson saw an LST (landing ship tank) number 1405. On this ship was his brother, Bert. Yngve commandeered a dingy with the help of a sailor and visited his brother for about four hours. With 16 million Americans serving in WWII and almost 11,000 ships. Johnson was lucky enough to anchor right next to his brother's ship.

While on Okinawa, Johnson started his rock hauling work. The trucks were under constant sniper fire day and night, and while driving one night, Yngve became disoriented and drove into a large pothole, which caused him to injure his back. Five vertebrae were compressed and this ended his truck driving. He was then tasked to oversee the motor pool from behind a desk, which he did up until V-J day.

Johnson’s children, Kevin, Yvonne, Brenda, Brent and Wanda, did not hear much about his service in their early years, though the Johnson family always placed a large emphasis on supporting the military and patriotism. 

“I was always so grateful after I found out everything he had been through for the country and what could have happened to him,” Brenda said. “Mom and dad were all about patriotism and celebrated every holiday.”

At Yngve’s funeral, a strong presence was shown by the military, including U.S. Navy sailors, Army soldiers from Chicago that came to present the flag, and the color guard from the Rochelle VFW Post. 

Decades after his service, appreciation meant a lot to Yngve Johnson. 

“My dad loved to eat at Butterfly,” Brenda said. “Once we had a family come over and thank him for his service after they saw the hat he was wearing. He was so proud of that. He was very humble. You could tell being thanked meant something to him.”

Johnson’s three years in the military were the only years he spent away from the farm during his 99 years of life. That was something he always bragged about. 

Johnson started farming as a young boy. He saw the agriculture industry revolutionized, and was witness to self-driving tractors and GPS in his later years after plowing fields behind horses in his early years of life. 

“He was just totally overwhelmed with the technology and how farming had progressed over his 99 years,” Kevin Johnson said. “He almost started to not like how much of the work and learning had been cut out of it. Things were difficult when he started. He took care of a family of six and had to make ends meet with jobs off the farm.”

Despite being busy with the work on his own farm, Yngve Johnson was always willing to help out neighboring farmers when they were in need. 

“When they needed something, they always knew they could pick the phone up and call my father and he'd be right there,” Kevin said. “He'd be in the middle of planting and he'd stop planting corn and help the neighbor plant corn. That's just how he was.”

Brenda recalled her father being up earlier and out working later than the rest of the family and taking him meals out to the field late at night with her mother. That work ethic was passed down to the Johnson children, she said. 

Up until his Yngve’s passing, each spring and fall he would sit in the barn with his son and talk about farming. That was when he would impart the knowledge he built up over 99 years. 

“It was unbelievable,” Kevin Johnson said. “And then the neighboring farmers would always come around. They'd ask my dad what he thought. That happened up until he passed away. He had a photographic memory. That's why he had all that knowledge that he shared with all the neighboring farmers. Once he saw something, he never forgot it.”

Honoring Our American Hero is a series that will print bi-monthly in the News-Leader. If you know an American Hero you would like to have featured, contact Jeff Helfrich at jhelfrich@rochellenews-leader.com or call 815-561-2151.