Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Headquarters Headquarters, 381st Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division; 2nd Battalion Headquarters
  • Location of Service: Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

"Bullets are flying in all directions… you [can] hear them but you don't know which way they're going." (Audio Interview, 15:56)

For soldiers fighting on Okinawa in the Second World War, the first landing on the beach served as a harsh introduction to the chaos of battle. Army Sergeant Ralph B. Johnson offers an evocative description of his experiences arriving on Okinawa with one of the first waves of assault troops on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945. He was tasked with carrying a large and heavy radio, which made struggling through the volley of bullets all the more difficult.

Ralph B. Johnson Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

Ralph B. Johnson Collection
Interview / Recording

Ralph B. Johnson Collection
Interview / Recording

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

About this Item

Title

  • Ralph B. Johnson Collection

Names

  • McKissock, H.
  • Lugar, Richard
  • Johnson, Ralph B.
  • Eddie Walker
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar

State of Birth

  • IL

Home State

  • IN

Headings

  • -  Johnson, Ralph B.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Headquarters Headquarters, 381st Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division; 2nd Battalion Headquarters
    • Location of Service: Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Original photographic print [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Microcassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 6/24/2002)
  • Audio: CD [0 item] -- Reference copy (collected 11/13/2006)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2692

Cite as

  • Ralph B. Johnson Collection (AFC/2001/001/2692), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Mckissock, H, Richard Lugar, Ralph B Johnson, Eddie Walker, and U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. Ralph B. Johnson Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02692/.

APA citation style:

McKissock, H., Lugar, R., Johnson, R. B., Eddie Walker & U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. (1943) Ralph B. Johnson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02692/.

MLA citation style:

Mckissock, H, et al. Ralph B. Johnson Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02692/>.