Carl C. Johnson

Carl Croston Johnson was an American U.S. Army Air Force and U.S. Army officer. He was the final Tuskegee Airmen cadet pilot graduate.

Early life

Carl Croston Johnson was born on April 27, 1926, in Bellaire, Ohio, on the border between Ohio and West Virginia near Wheeling, West Virginia. Though he grew up during Jim Crow racial segregation, Johnson attended a racially integrated high school. Johnson attended Ohio State University, where he studied in preparation to become a dentist. After being discharged from active duty in the US Army Air Force in 1947, Johnson met his future wife, Nancy, when he resumed his studies at Ohio State University.

Military career

In 1945, Johnson was drafted into the US Army.

Personal life and death

Carl had a daughter, Karen Warren, and son, Michael Johnson, in addition to three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He lived in the Potomac Green community of Ashburn, Virginia. He died on August 28, 2023, at the age of 97.

Awards and commendations

Distinguished Flying Cross, Vietnam
Ten Air Medals

Honors

In 2007, Johnson and the collective Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal.
On May 1, 2021, the town of Ashburn, Virginia, the Loudoun County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office and several veterans organizations honored Johnson with a parade in celebration of his 95th birthday.
On August 14, 2021, Johnson was the only Documented Original Tuskegee Airman to attend the Tuskegee Airmen Association’s induction of US Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown as an honorary member.
On May 29, 2021, the American Legion Post 2001 honored the ailing Johnson with a battery powered wheelchair.