Paradise Lost

Two young American boys gambol on the beaches of Aruba. Sprinting first across the sand, only to dive into the warm Caribbean seas to swim and swim and swim. Then they come out of the water and repeat the process all over again. On other days they explore the island’s caves and abandoned mines. For young Tony Johnson and Vlad Broz, whose fathers were American engineers employed by Standard Oil and working in Aruba, life seemed an unending vacation. But like all vacations, this one would come to an end, but the friendship between the two boys would endure.

Pre-Cranford Years

Anthony Kent Johnson was born October 8, 1940 in Fulton, New York. He had one younger brother, Terry. (Terry would receive an Electrical Engineering degree from Norwich University, and would become a US Army 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) and would serve in Vietnam in 1972.)

Anthony’s younger years showed frequent travel between the continental United States and Aruba, most likely associated with his father Ernest’s employment. His father, along with his best friend Vlad Broz’s father, were engineers for Standard Oil Company. Neighboring island Curacao was a refining stop for South American petroleum.

The two families lived in the corporation’s Lago Colony on the east end of Aruba. For the two boys, Aruba was a magical place. They spent their free time swimming, running on the beach and exploring caves and abandoned mines. They never owned cold weather clothes. US entry records show Anthony: arriving in Miami May 12, 1945 aboard a Royal Dutch Airlines flight; arriving in Boston June 7, 1948 from Aruba; and arriving in New York City April 15, 1950 from Curacao. In 1953 Standard Oil relocated both families to New Jersey.

Anthony’s family settled in Cranford at 611 Springfield Avenue. His friend, Vlad Broz, whose father had moved his family to Westfield at the same time, posted the following in 2011 on the “Wall of Faces” Vietnam Veterans Memorial website:

“My Best Budd – So Long Ago. Some memories never die, and those growing up with Tony in Aruba, and then Cranford were fun. Our six week drive to Acapulco in my ’53 Plymouth just before he joined the AF was a proper send-off. Last time I saw him was in 1963. He was based at Columbus, MS and I was off to the Army Helicopter flight school in Texas. I was with Air America, Saigon when I heard of his crash. Saw the wreckage in Da Nang. Big bummer. Visited his memorial at Andersen AFB in Guam years later. We sure had some fun times.”

(Note: Air America was the clandestine CIA air operation in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. After piloting for the US Army and then Air America, Vlad went on to a career as a corporate helicopter pilot.)

Cranford Years

The Johnson family took up residence at 611 Springfield Avenue in Cranford in 1953, and Tony would complete the remainder of his public school education in Cranford, graduating from Cranford High School in 1958. The yearbook and his 1967 obituary state that he was a member of the Chess Club, Biology Club, Bowling Club, and Rifle Club. His yearbook entry says he loved building, flying, and repairing model airplanes, but disliked work. Those who knew him said they remember him as a “sweet kid”.

Upon graduating CHS, Tony began studies at the New York State Agricultural and Technical Institute from which he graduated in 1962. During the summers he was employed as a lifeguard at the Cranford Swim Club off of Kenilworth Boulevard in Cranford. It was there in 1960 that Susan Frank, who would provide much of the information we have about Tony before he joined the Air Force upon college graduation, first met him. She said Tony was dating a member of the swimming pool staff, while she was dating his best friend Vlad. Upon graduation, and before joining the military to become a United States Air Force (USAF) navigator (Tony) and a US Army helicopter pilot (Vlad), the two friends set off on an extended trip to Acapulco, Mexico. On the way out, they stopped by Susan Frank’s college in South Carolina to visit her. Upon their return from Mexico, Susan said they had so little money left that they couldn’t take the New Jersey Turnpike home. (It was Vlad who would later inform Susan of Tony’s death in 1967.)

Tony then began officer training at the USAF Cadet School in Harlingen, Texas. He planned to make a career in the Air Force. In January, 1964, Tony Johnson married Bromley Roberts of Belmont, MA. They would have one child. Vlad wanted to be a pilot, but at 6’ 5” tall, found he exceeded the Air Force height limit for pilots. So he joined the US Army and began primary helicopter flight training at Ft Wolters, Texas. Both friends would successfully complete their military officer training.

Military Experience

Upon completion of Cadet School, Tony was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the USAF. He was then sent to Advanced Navigator Training at Mather Air Force Base (AFB), Sacramento, California. There he was qualified as both a navigator and a radar operator. He became part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), and was subsequently promoted to 1st Lieutenant, and then to Captain in 1966. Between 1965 and 1967, Captain (CPT) Johnson completed three 6-month Vietnam tours of duty, serving on B-52 bombers conducting Arc Light bombing missions. During his military service he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and numerous Air Medals. (Although not mentioned in various articles, he would also be entitled to the Purple Heart, which is reflected on his military gravestone.)

B-52 Bombers and Arc Light

The B-52 “Stratofortress” was an eight engine, subsonic jet bomber introduced in 1952 to play the role of strategic nuclear bomber during the Cold War. It remains in operation today, more than 70 years later. With the increased United States involvement in Vietnam, a number of B-52D models were converted to “Big Belly” versions capable of carrying 30 tons of conventional bombs. That payload would include eighty-four 500-lb bombs within the bomb bay and another twenty-four 750-lb bombs on under wing pylons. This configuration was used for “Arc Light” bombing missions.

Arc Light missions would engage in bombing enemy: bases, supply routes, behind the lines troop concentrations, and occasionally in direct support of ground troops in combat (as they did at Khe Sanh in 1968). They would bomb from an altitude of 30,000 feet, and the enemy would be unaware of their presence until the bombs began to detonate. Arc Light bombing raids were conducted between November, 1965 and April, 1973 overtly in South and North Vietnam, and covertly in Cambodia and Laos.

I have several strong recollections of Arc Light strikes from my 1967 service in Vietnam. While flying a helicopter mission close to the Cambodian border, we flew over the site of an earlier Arc Light strike. The bomb craters were filled with monsoonal rain water, and as I watched, a column of three US Army M-48 main battle tanks (each 30 feet in length) carefully skirted one of the bomb craters. The three tank column measured less than half the circumference of the bomb crater.

Several times while sleeping in my bunk at my Phu Loi Army airbase, an Arc Light strike being conducted somewhere west of us caused my bunk to dance across the concrete floor, with me in it. Arc Light strikes were truly awe-inspiring, even the ground quivered in response.

The Crash of B-52D Tail Number 56-0601

1967 found Captain Anthony Johnson on his third six-month Vietnam tour, assigned to 736th Bomber Squadron, 254th Bomb Wing (on temporary duty), and 4133rd Bomb Wing (Provisional) of SAC. The unit flew its missions out of Andersen USAF base, Guam. These would be 14-hour missions requiring two in-flight refuelings.

On July 8, 1967, CPT Johnson’s aircraft (code name “Corny 26”) was part of a three-plane cell (“Brown 2”) tasked with bombing Vinh, North Vietnam and then landing at U-Tapao Thai Royal Navy airfield in Thailand. Tony was substituting for another navigator who was unable to make the flight. During the mission “Corny 26” experienced electrical problems preventing it from extending its flaps during landing to slow the aircraft. Some sources also reported that it had lost power to two of its eight engines. The pilot, Major Gene W. Brown, asked for and received permission to divert to Da Nang airfield in South Vietnam about 290 miles south of Vinh. The official accident report continues.

Unable to lower flaps to reduce the landing speed, the pilot made a go-around and touched down at higher than normal landing speed within the first 1,000 feet of the runway. However, the plane skip-bounced back into the air coming down nearly 6,000 feet later. It overran the end of the runway at 100 knots (nearly 115 mph). Its undercarriage hit the bottom of a drainage ditch and the nose of the plane hit the ground. The plane broke apart and caught fire, coming to rest in a minefield and detonating some of the mines. The fire was so intense that a rescue helicopter was waved off. Firefighters would battle the blaze for three hours.

All five officers in the cockpit of the plane, including CPT Anthony Johnson, were killed. Only the tail gunner, Technical Sergeant (TSGT) Albert I. Whitley survived after rescuers chopped apart his Plexiglas canopy and extracted him. He had only minor scratches and abrasions.

During the Vietnam War B-52s flew 126,615 sorties (flights by an individual aircraft). Tony’s B-52 would be one of 13 B-52s lost to “operational issues” (loss due to other than hostile fire). Another 18 B-52s would be lost to hostile fire.

Final Thoughts

At the time of his death, Tony and Bromley Johnson had a 10-month old son, Christopher Allyn. Tony’s remains were returned to the US and he was interred at the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Liberty Corner, New Jersey. CPT Anthony Kent Johnson, the “sweet kid” to his friends and neighbors, served his country with honor and distinction. It is so unfortunate that his story ended as it did, especially since he was not originally assigned to the flight that took his life.

Researcher and friend Susan Frank best summed of the tragedy of Tony Johnson’s loss:

“I just remember this cute, happy go lucky kid, hanging out at the pool, going on double dates to the drive in movies and then, the last time I saw him, on his way to Mexico for an adventure with his buddy Vlad. All these years later, when I found out he had tragically died in Vietnam, it brought back a lot of the feelings I had about that war at the time and now. It was just so wrong that this great kid should not be alive with us now, to be with his wife, raise his son, and to have grandchildren. All for a war that our politicians and military personnel knew we could not win. It became important to me that Tony not be forgotten and that his family should know that their loss and pain was acknowledged. So that started me on this journey and I am so grateful that Janet and Vic have joined me. I'm just hoping that someday we'll hear from a member of his family or a friend who will see his flag and story and know they are not alone in missing him.”

A special note of thanks is due to Susan Frank and to Cranford 86 volunteer Janet Ashnault for their invaluable assistance in researching this story.