Fort Feline

THEY STOOD ON GUARD NOVEMBER 12, 1944 John Brine Johnson: A Young Airman Who Never Came Home He was just 21 years old, a young Canadian airman who had left behind his family, his hometown and the promise of an ordinary life to serve his country during the Second World War. Flying Officer John Brine Johnson was born on April 21, 1923, in Sarnia, Ontario, the son of John Francis Johnson and Blanche Brine Johnson. Growing up in Ontario, he attended Kimberley Public School and Malvern Collegiate. His family had connections to Milliken and Agincourt, communities that were then far removed from the sprawling Toronto suburbs of today. Before joining the military, Johnson worked as a clerk with General Motors Acceptance Corporation. His employment records described his duties as payment bookkeeping. He enjoyed swimming, boxing, badminton and skating. His military application also listed carpentry among his interests. These small details, preserved in his own handwriting, offer a glimpse of the young man behind the uniform. On November 8, 1942, Johnson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After completing his training, he graduated from Hagersville in May 1943 and proceeded overseas. He eventually served with No. 159 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, a bomber unit operating Consolidated B-24 Liberators in the Far East. From bases in India, the squadron carried out dangerous long-range operations against Japanese-held territory, including bombing, reconnaissance and aerial mine-laying missions. On November 12, 1944, Flying Officer John Brine Johnson was lost during overseas operations. He was 21 years old. A newspaper back home reported that the young airman from Agincourt had been declared missing. His parents, John and Blanche Johnson, had received the news every wartime family dreaded. For Johnson, there would be no homecoming. His remains were never recovered or identified, and today his name is commemorated on Column 442 of the Singapore Memorial, among thousands of Commonwealth servicemen who have no known grave. His name also appears on Page 346 of Canada’s Second World War Book of Remembrance. Eighty-two years later, the surviving photographs, handwritten service papers and newspaper clippings remind us that behind every name on a war memorial was a person with a family, a home and a future. Flying Officer John Brine Johnson gave his life at 21. He deserves to be remembered. Source: Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial; RCAF service records and contemporary newspaper clippings. #LestWeForget #RCAF #Canada 1/2