Bio, Johnson, Stanley G.

Name: Stanley Garwood Johnson
Branch/Rank: United States Marine Corps/O2
Unit: HELICOPTER MARINE MEDIUM 34 MARINE AIR GROUP 3 1 MARINE AIR WING
HMM-364, MAG-36, 1st MAW
Date of Birth: 11 November 1940
Home City of Record: APPLEGATE CA
Date of Loss: 03 December 1965
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 153627 North 1081351 East
Status (in 1973): Killed In Action/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH34D #148762 - Co-Pilot
Missions:

Other Personnel in Incident: Riley, Kirk Irwin, Capt., Pilot, KIA;
                             White, Robert Henry, Cpl., Crew Chief, KIA;
                             Dempsey, Warren Leigh, Cpl., Gunner, KIA;
                             Nine ARVN also killed.

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File. Updated 2000 with information from USMC/Vietnam
Helicopter Association and John Lane. 2015.

Capt. Riley and his crew were the lead aircraft of a flight of six UH-34's
on December 3, 1965. All aircraft were carrying a full complement of ARVN
troops whose destination was an outpost known as Hiep Duc, just West of Tam
Ky. The entire area was noted for being a very "hot spot".

Ken Gross relates, "We tried to go in as high as possible, though we were
limited by somewhat low ceilings, which may have placed us approximately
2000 feet above ground level.  The flight was in normal cruise when we
reached the vicinity of UTM grid coordinates BY031273 where the Viet Cong
fired on us with time delay fused mortars. Unfortunately Capt. Riley's
aircraft received a direct hit in the belly, where the fuel tanks were
located, and they never stood a chance.  Capt. Riley tried desperately
to get the aircraft on the ground, but it was burning so fiercely he
appeared to lose control and the aircraft rolled inverted and crashed.
No one survived".

Member Rank	First & Last Name	Service	Unit	Lost	Location	Accounted-For
1st Lt.	Stanley G. Johnson	U.S. Marine Corps	U.S. Marines Corps, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing	12/3/1965	Vietnam	8/5/2015

From: Waggoner, Natasha L Maj USAF DPAA EXT COMM (US) [mailto:natasha.l.waggoner.mil@mail.mil]
Sent: 05 August, 2016 20:47
Subject: Marine Missing From Vietnam War Accounted For (Johnson)

Sir/Ma'am-

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Stanley Johnson, missing from the Vietnam War, has now
been accounted for.

On Dec. 3, 1965, Johnson was the co-pilot of an UH-34D helicopter assigned
to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st
Marine Aircraft Wing, tasked to insert Army of the Republic of Viet Nam
troops into South Vietnam. Johnson's aircraft, with three other Americans
and nine Vietnamese soldiers onboard, was hit by enemy fire. At 100 to 200
feet above the ground with the entire cargo compartment in flames, the
helicopter lost one of its main rotor blades, and crashed approximately 30
kilometers west of Tam Ky Town. Everyone onboard the aircraft was killed in
the crash.

Between 1993 and 2008, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.)
teams traveled to the area and conducted investigations which resulted in
multiple excavations at the incident crash site and possible burial
locations.

Lab analysis, in conjunction with the totality of circumstantial evidence
available, established Johnson's remains were included.

Interment services are pending.

Welcome home and rest in peace, 1st Lt. Johnson.

For more information on DPAA please visit our website at www.DPAA.mil and/or
like us on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/dodpaa/.

V/R

Maj. Natasha Waggoner, USAF
Deputy, Public Affairs
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Phone: 808.448.4500 ext. 3150
Cell: 808.255.4078
www.dpaa.mil

1STLT STANLEY GARWOOD JOHNSON

Return to Service Member Profiles

Conflict
Service
Status
Date of Accounting

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
Accounted For
08/05/2015

On August 5, 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of First Lieutenant Stanley Garwood Johnson, missing from the Vietnam War.

First Lieutenant Johnson, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California, served with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marine Air Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. On December 3, 1965, he was the copilot of a UH-34D Seahorse helicopter carrying four Marines and nine Vietnamese soldiers on an insertion mission into enemy territory. The helicopter was hit by ground fire, caught fire and crashed west of Tam Ky Town. Everyone on board was killed in the crash. The remains of three of the U.S. crewmen and six Vietnamese soldiers were recovered from the crash site several weeks later, but the remains of 1stLt Johnson could not be recovered at that time. Between 1993 and 2008, joint U.S./Vietnamese recovery teams traveled to the area and conducted several excavations of the crash site and possible burial locations. DPAA teams were able to use evidence from these excavations to account for 1stLt Johnson.

First Lieutenant Johnson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.

1stLt STANLEY GARWOOD JOHNSON

Unit HMM 364 MAG36 1MAW FMF
Historical Country of Loss
Vietnam
Current Country of Loss
VIETNAM
Home of Record CA