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Interviewee
Johnson, Carl
Document Type
Oral History
Date of Interview
8-10-2002
Abstract
Carl Johnson was born 9 September 1915 on a farm in Spalding Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota. The son of Swedish immigrant parents, Carl attended school through the eighth grade; during the Depression years, he worked as a mechanic in the towns of Aitkin and McGregor, Minnesota. Carl was working at an auto dealership in McGregor, aged twenty-six, when he was drafted into the US Army in May 1942. In the service, Carl was stationed from mid-1942 to mid-1944 in England, at the 8th Air Force Replacement Center near the town of Stafford. Given his prewar skilled trade, he was kept out of a direct combat role. Carl worked in the Army as a mechanic, repairing a wide range of vehicles, then as a motor sergeant, responsible for identifying problems and organizing repairs. In mid-1944 Carl was returned to the US and scheduled for assignment to the Pacific, but several health problems landed him in hospital at Lowry Field, Colorado. Once out of the hospital Carl remained at Lowry until his discharge in October 1945. Again a civilian, Carl married Edna Bartells (1946), and after several years in the Denver area the couple returned to McGregor. Carl later worked for Diamond Match Company in Cloquet, retiring in 1977.
Copyright
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without the written permission of Concordia University Library or Thomas Saylor, Department of History, Concordia University, St. Paul.
Recommended Citation
Saylor, Thomas, "Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Carl Johnson" (2002). Oral History Project: World War II Years, 1941-1946. 118.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/oral-history_ww2/118
PDF Transcript of Interview with Carl Johnson