JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON

at it again in 2008!! 

more                      his proof                         pages from his book!

Records search

"I purchased the book "For Which It Stands.." and will also get a refund on the book...I could not believe the errors in the book! The book also stated he was awarded the Silver Star in WW2, Bronze Star, 7 Purple Hearts, etc. etc..." 

Vet tells plenty of tales in print
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
By Siobhan A. Counihan
scounihan@sjnewsco.com

WEST DEPTFORD TWP. Joseph Johnston fought in World War II, the Korean War, and was a POW for 1,000-plus days during the Vietnam War. He was a witness at the Nuremberg Trials, Jacqueline Kennedy's personal driver, and a lifelong public servant.

Now, he's the subject of a biography which was released last week written by West Deptford resident George Bockius.

"For Which it Stands: A Soldier's Story" was inspired by a school project that Stephen, Bockius' son and now a freshman at Drexel University, completed while attending the West Deptford Middle School.

So to celebrate the book's release and its inspiration, Monica Quinlan-Dulude's eighth-grade WDMS honors social studies class got a treat Tuesday morning when Johnston visited the class, sharing inspiring tales and advice for life.

"We released the book for one reason," Johnston said. "Not just for me, there were hundreds of thousands of me. And in the book, you will not find a swear word nor will you find any sex. It's not written for that. It's written so you can know what really happened."

Before the book could be released, it was reviewed by the CIA and the NSA with many pages ending up on the cutting room floor because of Johnson's various security detail duties, including providing Secret Service coverage for presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.

Bockius, a 30-year employee with Lockheed Martin in Moorestown, spent three years interviewing Johnston and then one year writing the book.

"We had some sad times doing this, because (Johnston) had some real tough memories," Bockius said. "But I pressed him."

It begins with Johnston's combat experience in World War II's D-Day invasion and ends abruptly with Johnston's return to the United States in 1972 after suffering three years of torture in Vietnam as a POW.

When speaking to the class, Johnston focused on the things that helped him get through his military experience: A sense of humor, faith in the United States and faith in the flag. This "core," he said, could help the students get through anything.

"You always had that forward feeling no matter what they do to you," Johnston said. "No matter how much they hurt ya, they can't take that core outta ya. When you have that, nobody can beat you down."

"It's interesting," he added. "You had to be funny, and you had to have jokes. You had the good times and you had the bad times. You just can't let the bad times get you down."

Johnston told the students that they should "pick a goal" and go after it.

"Pick something that will get you through the tough times," he said. "And don't be afraid to stand up and do it. If you don't stand up and do it, you'll never get it done."

Johnston, a colonel when he retired from the 101st Airborne 502nd Parachute Infantry regiment in the 1970s, earned seven Purple Hearts for wounds received, among many other medals and honors. Despite the numerous accolades, Johnston resisted the label "hero" when Bockius called him one during the presentation.

Toward the end of the presentation, Johnston led the class in a moving rendition of the "Pledge of Allegiance."

"You know what I see when I look at them stars?" he said. "The people I know. They're not dead and buried. They're looking at me. And they're looking at you. And I like to think that when I'm dead and gone, I can be one of those stars, too, looking back at all of you when you salute this flag."
The U.S. government has no record of a Joseph Johnston ever having been a POW during the Vietnam War.  The database to which I refer is called the PMSEA, for Personnel Missing Southeast Asia.  It is maintained here at the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office in Washington.  It was not created here, but we are the custodians of the information provided by battlefield units and commanders during wartime and we update it from time to time as MIAs are accounted-for.  This listing contains the names of those held as POWs for only one day; of those who were part of "black" or secret operations; of civilians and military working for other "agencies;" of those engaged in operations that were not acknowledged by the government during wartime; etc; etc.  In short, it is exhaustive and comprehensive. Over the years, it has been challenged by a few whose name did not appear, however, it has NEVER been proven to be in error in terms of omitting a name which should be included.  (The database is available to the public at the web site that Captain McGrath provided you earlier.  You will not find Mr. Johnston's name.)

I don't know Mr. Johnston, or whoever he is, but I'm certain that his claims about being a POW are cruel and offensive to those men who survived their terrible ordeals in captivity, and to the families and comrades of some of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Larry Greer
Director of Public Affairs
Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office

---------------------------------------------------------------

I just wanted to let you know that no man by the name of Joseph F. Johnston was ever a MIA/POW during the Vietnam War.  He was never with us, the real surviving 661 POWs, nor is he known by the Department of Defense in this regard.  The real 3,792 MIAs/POWs are listed on the internet by the Department of Defense at: http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pmsea/files.htm  If you'll check, you'll find that Mr. Johnston is not listed.  You can also call the DPMO and check for yourself.  Call during working hours, Washington DC time:  Larry Greer, Public Affairs Officer, 703-699-1169.  Fax 703-602- 4375. Mr. Greer is info copied on this message. He will be expecting your call.
 
We usually find that when a man is lying about having been a POW, then he is usually lying about a lot of other things as well.  I would bet that Mr. Johnston is not a General, as the article stated.  In all the 1,200+ phony POW claimants we have run across, not one officer has made such a false claim.  Lots of others have, but not a General in particular.  I understand he is writing a book...For Which it Stands.  Fat chance he will put his lies down in writing. 
 
Well, I wish Brigadier General Joseph F. Johnston well.  I hope he is indeed a real General, but I'm curious as to why he would tell such a wild and dishonest tale to the fine folks of your community.  As Mr. Greer will attest, there are no classified missions, no secret POWs not listed, no CIA or Black operations which can't be talked about.  There is no military debrief in Washington along with the 661 debriefs from the rest of us.  Nope, this guy just has a screw loose somewhere.  We will get to the bottom of it when we receive his service record from the National Records Center in St. Louis. ....
 
Sincerely,
 
Captain John M. McGrath, USN (Ret)
POW 5 years 8 months in the Hanoi Hilton, North Vietnam
NAM-POWs Historian
www.nampows.org
Asbury Park Press
12/5/05
POW/MIA tree lighting conjures deep emotions

BY MARGARET F. BONAFIDE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

SEASIDE HEIGHTS ­ The 15th annual POW/MIA Christmas Tree Lighting  Ceremony was held Saturday, drawing deep emotion from the 275 participants at the Shore Boros American Legion Post 351 in Seaside Heights...
Guest speaker retired Brig. Gen. Joseph F. Johnston praised the youths' performance in the table ceremony. A former prisoner of war at the camp known as the "Hanoi Hilton,"  Johnston told the audience that he spent three years of torture there.  "No one believes a person can be like that to another human  being," Johnston said. "Believe."...
POWs say speaker wasn't one

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/9/05

BY MARGARET F. BONAFIDE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

Members of the close-knit community who were once prisoners of war in Vietnam say a speaker at a veterans ceremony in Seaside Heights Saturday who identified himself as a former POW was not telling the truth about his captivity.

Joseph F. Johnston, 82, of Edgewater Park, Burlington County, was guest speaker at the annual POW/MIA Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Shore Boros American Legion Post 351. He was introduced as a retired brigadier general who joined the Army at 20, serving in World War II, Korea and Vietnam as a member of the 502nd regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He said he was a POW at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" camp and was tortured.

His first day of battle was D-Day, he said in a telephone interview Thursday. After WWII, he attended intelligence school.

Johnston addressed about 275 people at the Legion post, whose members have been very active working for the cause of prisoners of war.

Johnston told the veterans and their families that during his 3 1/2-year captivity, he had faith that the Americans would free him. On Thursday, he said his captivity was for 2 1/2 weeks. After a story about his speech appeared in the Asbury Park Press Monday, other military veterans came forward and said Johnston was never a prisoner of war.

"Most of my service was military intelligence as a "pathfinder,' " Johnston said, adding that a pathfinder's work is classified ­ so classified he could not explain what a pathfinder is. That is why veterans could not locate his records, he said.

An Internet search, however, showed that pathfinders are navigation and communication experts, sometimes working with secret equipment but often using state-of-the-art technology the Army publicizes.

No record in Pentagon

The federal government has no record of a Joseph F. Johnston ever having been a POW during the Vietnam War, according to Larry Greer, director of public affairs at the Defense Department's POW/Missing Personnel Office.

Johnston was also not listed in a database called the PMSEA, for Personnel Missing in Southeast Asia, which says it is a list of all past and present POWs and MIAs.

The database is maintained at the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office in Washington.

"As far as I am concerned he was not a POW," Greer said Thursday. "That database includes guys who worked in secret."

"This listing contains the names of those held as POWs for only one day; of those who were part of "black' or secret operations; of civilians and military working for other "agencies'; of those engaged in operations that were not acknowledged by the government during wartime, etc., etc. In short, it is exhaustive and comprehensive," Greer wrote.

"I don't know Mr. Johnston, or whoever he is, but I'm certain that his claims about being a POW are cruel and offensive to those men who survived their terrible ordeals in captivity, and to the families and comrades of some of those who made the ultimate sacrifice," Greer added.

Bristles at challenges

Johnston, who wore a POW/MIA patch on his shoulder and who has business cards identifying himself as a former POW, said Thursday he served in the military for 28 years and 27 days and is upset by the challenges to his claims.

"I am more than befuddled," Johnston said. "I am mad. I don't understand it. It doesn't make any sense."

John Michael McGrath, 66, of Colorado maintains close contact with other ex-prisoners of war. He was held in the "Hanoi Hilton" for five years and eight months. He said Johnston was never there during his captivity.

McGrath, a Navy pilot shot down on a combat mission, was freed in Operation Homecoming along with 591 other prisoners on March 4, 1973.

"Former POWS are very tightly connected to each other," Greer said. "They were struggling to live and survive. They became each other's blood brothers in this."

Chuck Robbins, who coordinated the ceremony Saturday, is the POW MIA state chairman.

"I would just like to stay out of it until I can get the answers myself," Robbins said.

Those answers will come, vowed Mary Schantag, one of the founding members of the P.O.W. Network.

False POW claims are not "isolated incidents," Schantag said. Her organization and others have exposed about 1,000 such cases, she said, and continue to investigate new ones. Schantag said she is filing a Freedom of Information Act request to get Johnston's military records.

Ann Mills Griffiths, executive director of the National League of POW/MIA Families in Arlington, Va., said she believes the American Legion post was duped. She said the league is indebted to Robbins and the Shore Boros post for all they've done on the MIA/POW issue.

"It is really awful but this happens a lot," Griffiths said.

Margaret F. Bonafide; (732) 557-5740 or bonafide@app.com
Questions raised whether general was ever a POW
Published in the Ocean County Observer
12/11/05

by LAWRENCE MEEGAN, Staff Writer.   Robert Ward, Photo


Retired Brig. Gen. Joseph F. Johnson spoke last week at the annual 15th annual POW/MIA Christmas tree ceremony at the American Legion Post No. 351 in Seaside Heights. Questions have since been raised about his record.  
 
       SEASIDE HEIGHTS — The white-haired, 81-year-old  brigadier general spoke movingly of what it was like to be a  prisoner of war in one of the world's most notorious camps: the  Hanoi Hilton.
 
One thought kept encouraging him and other POWs in their hope for release, retired Brig. General Joseph Johnston said at last Saturday's American Legion Post 351 Christmas tree lighting and POW/MIA ceremony: "We knew that you were coming — and you did."
 
There's only one problem — the executive director of the National League of POW/MIA Families, based in Virginia, claims that the keynote speaker at last week's ceremony is not and never was a prisoner of war.

"He is absolutely not a POW," said Ann Mills Griffiths, the league's executive director.
 
She said his name does not appear on any check of Web sites that list POWs names.
 
"We have a complete list," she said. "That name is simply not there."
 
Johnston said he has heard that charge dozens of times.
 
"The lists do not include NSA (National Security Administration) men," he said.
 
"I'm not lying," said Johnston. "Why go around saying these things when it can be so easily checked?"
 
Johnston, who said he had a military career that spanned four decades, including three years as a POW in Vietnam, said that he has provided evidence of his time as a POW to Chuck Robbins, American Legion coordinator in New Jersey.
 
Robbins, who brought Johnston to speak at the ceremony, did not return a telephone call seeking comment. But in published reports, Robbins said he wanted to refain from making comments until he could review the evidence himself.
 
In a resume submitted by Post 351, Johnston listed a number of actions that made him an eyewitness to history. He said he was assigned to the Pathfinder Unit of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II, and that he jumped into France just before the Normandy Landing on D-Day. At the Battle of the Bulge he said he received a battlefield commission.
 
He also said he helped liberate Holocaust victims and that he was a witness at the Nuremberg Trials.

When the Korean War broke out he said he fought at the Chosan Reservoir and Pork Chop Hill.

He said he fought in a reconnaissance unit during his tour in Vietnam and was captured. At the time of capture, he said, he was a lieutenant colonel in the 502nd Regiment Search and Seizure Team in the 101st Airborne.

After his military career he said he then served in the National Security Administration, including time spent in Kosovo. He retired in 1991, he added.

He also said that he graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in psychology and was assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
 
But what are making people question Johnston's background are his claims that he was a POW during the Vietnam War. In his resume, and at the speech last week, Johnston spoke movingly of what he said were his three years as a POW. Part of that time was spent in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton." He claims that Sen. John McCain was there at the same
time, though the two never met.
 
When Johnston returned from capture he said he weighed 90 pounds and was not expected to live.
 
He spent two years recuperating from his injuries, said his wife Ann Johnston.

"It was sheer hell," she said by telephone Friday evening. "My son and I would spend hours holding him down when he thought someone was chasing him. He'd grab under the pillow reaching for a gun. He still has nightmares."

"Anyone who says he was not a POW is a friggin' liar," she said.
 
In an interview last week, Johnston said that he recently received permission to disclose information about his military activities. He said a book about his exploits, "For Which it Stands," will be published in mid-February 2006.
 
Griffiths, however, insists that based on her records, Johnston was not a POW.
 
"It's a typical story that a person who is not legitimate claims their mission was so sensitive that it is not found on any list," Griffiths said.
 
"We know of about a thousand who claim they are (ex-POWs) but they're not," she added.
 
Griffiths said she felt bad for the people of American Legion Post 351, adding that people should check the Department of Defense list to verify a person's claim to be a POW.
 
"You couldn't ask for nicer people," she said. "I think it's sad for Chuck (Robbins) and those people. They were taken advantage of."
 
She said she also feels bad for the 81-year-old Johnston.

Johnston counters that she's wrong about him, and his history.
 
"I'm not hiding," Johnston said, inviting her to contact him. "I'm not afraid to stand by my record."
 
"I am proud of my husband," said a defiant Ann Johnston. "People should look up to him and all the other men who gave their life for the freedom they love."

  Published on December 11, 2005, in the Ocean County Observer