World War II POW’s medals to go to widow

World War II POW’s medals to go to widow

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Sep 8, 2009 8:01:21 EDT

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. — Daniel Johnson may not have taken pride in having been a prisoner in Japan during World War II, but his widow is making sure that his service is fully noted.

Johnson, an Army corporal, was taken prisoner on May 6, 1942, on the Philippine island of Corregidor when Lt. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright surrendered to the Japanese.

Johnson was held in some of the worst Japanese prison camps for 39 months before being liberated, only to spend another six months hospitalized because of malnutrition.

His widow, Phyllis Johnson of Mountain Home, is to formally receive her husband’s medals in a ceremony planned for Sept. 19.

“He wasn’t proud to be a POW, so he never cared about getting his medals,” Phyllis Johnson said.

Phyllis Johnson sought the medals after reading that a family member could request them. She has acquired her husband’s honorable service lapel pin, two presidential unit citations and five medals — WWII, POW, American Defense, Liberation of the Philippines and Asiatic-Pacific Campaign.

The ceremony will be held at a VFW hall in Cotter, Ark.
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