<p>
<em>CHESTER LEE JOHNSON</em> was one of the last survivors of the inhumane treatment of American and Filipino prisoners by the Japanese during the Death March on Bataan. Half of the POWs died of starvation, disease, or brutal execution by bayonet en route to the prison camp. He credited his survival to 11 outstanding soldiers who assisted him at critical times. Later, he recounted being required to dig his own grave on the march, only to be saved by American Artillery dispersing the Japanese captors. He dropped from 150 to 80 pounds.</p>
<p>
From his personal experiences, Johnny wrote of the tragedy that befell the thousands of Americans who courageously resisted the Japanese Invasion of the Philippines during the critical early months of WWII and of their subsequent suffering in the prison camp at Cabanatuan. (ASSEMBLY, June 1986, March 1987). In late 1944, he survived the sinking of two POW “Hell Ships.” On a third ship, he was transported to Korea. Of sixteen classmates on the three Hell Ships, only Johnny and one other survived. He was liberated in September 1945 by the 7th Infantry Division at Inchon, Korea. Twenty years later, he commanded the 7th Division in Korea.</p>
<p>
After retirement he worked to remind the country and West Point of the fate of the prisoners in the Philippines. He devoted himself to the work of the Cabanatuan POW Memorial at the original POW camp honoring the Filipino and American comrades who fought so valiantly and perished. He also spent a decade in efforts to have a memorial erected at West Point to the 176 graduates who suffered and died in the Philippine Campaign. Until his death, he maintained that those who died demonstrated, to the end, their devotion to the motto of the Academy and merited the recognition of a memorial at the Point.</p>
<p>
His introduction to the Point came during the Great Depression. Seeking an appointment to West Point, he hitchhiked from Oregon to Washington to meet with his congressman and secure a nomination. Johnny was an excellent student and worked on the <em>Pointer</em> and the <em>Howitzer</em>. He participated in track and golf, which he enjoyed throughout his career. Academics came easily to him, particularly History and English, and he graduated in the upper third of his class.</p>
<p>
His first assignment was to Ft. Lewis, where in 1940 he married Katharine “Kay” Evelyn, daughter of BG Sylvester D. Downs ’15. GEN Dwight D. Eisenhower was a wedding guest. The newlyweds sailed for the Philippines. The bride’s father, as a wedding present, had arranged for the couple to have a stateroom on the USS Grant. A mix-up occurred and the cabin was assigned to a more senior lieutenant, Harold K. Johnson, later Chief of Staff of the Army. After a few months in the Philippines, Kay was evacuated with other dependents in early 1941.</p>
<p>
On his return to the U.S. in 1945, Johnny spent several months in a convalescent center, followed by a year at Harvard earning a masters degree in political science. His next assignment was to West Point, as an instructor and assistant professor in the Department of Social Science. He initiated the Debate Team, which he took to Oxford, England. He also changed the seating in classrooms to informal groupings so as to encourage more student classroom participation in discussions.</p>
<p>
Kay and Johnny enjoyed three years at the Point, where sons Peter and Tracy were born.</p>
<p>
Tours in Germany and at the Army War College, first as a student, then as a member of the faculty, led to assignments in the Pentagon. His promotion to brigadier general was followed by his appointment as Army Attache to Mexico. It was that there he suffered a great loss in 1963 when Kay died. She was buried at West Point along with their son Tracy.</p>
<p>
In 1964, Johnny moved to Ft. Carson to become Assistant Division Commander of the 5th Division. While there, he was promoted to major general. He married Mary Elizabeth “Molly” Dowling von Wellsheim before going to Korea, where he commanded the 7th Division. He returned to the Pentagon as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff (Intelligence), followed by a three-year tour in Panama as Commanding General, US Army, South, with responsibilities throughout Central and South America. He enjoyed the duty, the deep-sea fishing, and the golf course in his front yard.</p>
<p>
His last three years on active duty were spent at Ft. Sam Houston as Deputy Commander of the Fourth/Fifth Army. His last assignments were arranging and carrying out the state funerals of President Harry S. Truman and President Lyndon B. Johnson. After retirement in 1973, the Johnsons took up residence in San Antonio.</p>
<p>
His roommate had written in the 1937 <em>Howitzer</em> “here is a young man destined to ride easily over Fate’s rougher bumps and soar aloft on the wings of Fortune.” His life had more than his share of “rough bumps.” He recovered from the horrible experiences of the Philippine Campaign to be recognized as a true leader in the finest tradition of West Point. His abilities were recognized by two Distinguished Service Medals, a Silver Star, two Legions of Merit, and two Bronze Star Medals, along with awards from the Philippines, Korea, Mexico, and Brazil.</p>
<p>
Johnny was buried next to the Old Cadet Chapel in the plot with his first wife, Katharine; his son Tracy; and his parents. GEN Barry McCaffrey, on his staff in Panama, and a close personal friend since, delivered the eulogy.</p>
<p>
“We know now that a great man has fallen." Samuel 3</p>