Raymond
T. Johnson
Courtesy of his niece, Bonnie
L. Roth
Raymond T. Johnson, 82, of Allentown,
passed away Thursday, April 16, 2009 in the Inpatient Lehigh Valley Hospice
Unit. Born in Allentown on August 14, 1926, he was the son of the late
Raymond Johnson Sr. and Helen Smith.
He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 at the age of 17 and saw a year of action in
the Pacific during WWII. His WWII experiences are featured in “Typhoon of
Steel: The Battle of Okinawa” which devotes a chapter to the role of his
ship, the USS Laffey, in the Battle for Okinawa. During the battle for
Okinawa, he served aboard the USS Laffey, also known as “The Ship That Would
Not Die,” a destroyer assigned to the dangerous mission of acting as a radar
picket to warn of the approach of Kamikazes, Japanese suicide planes, to the
Okinawa beachhead.
The Laffey encountered forty Kamikazes. He and his shipmates shot down
twenty-two in the morning-long action, breaking the main strength of the
third general suicide attack aimed at Okinawa. Five enemy pilots managed to
hit the ship, badly damaging it, but he and other crewmen overcame fires,
flooding and other damage to bring the Laffey to a safe anchorage. He was
recalled to duty and served again during the Korean War.
He worked for Western Electric after the war and, in 1956, he began his own
business, Champion Aluminum Products in Emmaus, PA. Upon retiring, he
worked in grounds maintenance at Saucon Valley Country Club and, later, as a
Crossing Guard at Catasauqua Road for the City of Bethlehem.
Raymond was a member of Asbury Methodist Church. He was a member of the
Tall Cedars of Lebanon, serving as Grand Tall Cedar in 1993 and raising
thousands of dollars for Muscular Dystrophy through his charitable efforts.
Raymond was also a member of Greenleaf Masons Lodge 561 Free & Accepted
Masons of Allentown.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Grace (Gerhard) Johnson.
Survivors: daughters, Susan I. Albertson of Allentown, PA, and Carole
R. Shugart of Catasauqua, PA; son, David E. Johnson and his wife Diane of
Whitehall, PA; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; sister,
Phyllis Maurer of Coopersburg, PA; companion, Betty Walter of Allentown, PA,
and her children, 5 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
Services: Visitation will be Monday, April 20, from 9:30-10:30 AM
in the Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden St, Bethlehem, followed by a Masonic
Service at 10:30 AM. Funeral services will begin at 10:45 AM in the funeral
home. Online condolences may be made at
www.longfuneralhome.com
Contributions:
in lieu of flowers, to Muscular Dystrophy Association, 5940 Hamilton Blvd,
Suite F, Allentown, PA 18106.