Corporal Johnson was a member of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy near Osan, South Korea on July 5, 1950. He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953. His remains were recovered at Osan on September 7, 1967. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.