Who Was Woodrow Wilson Johns?
Family Tells the Stories Behind the Name on the Memorial
by Ned Benton
 (May 22, 2003) A central and solemn tradition of
Memorial Day in Larchmont is the reading of the “honor
roll” – the
list of Larchmonters who “made
the supreme sacrifice.” When we hear each name, we wonder, “Who
was he? What was she doing? What were their lives like in Larchmont before
the war?” The
Gazette has begun to assemble the stories behind the names appearing on the
plaques in Memorial Park.
"Woodrow Wilson Johns, is my father,” wrote Colleen
(Johns) Mistretta. He was killed in the battle of Okinawa,
May 12, 1945, just about one month before V-E Day.” His
name appears on the World War II Memorial on Myrtle Boulevard
and Murray Avenue, and after the Gazette began a Review of
1942 that featured the Memorial, his family began to email
his story.
The
Gazette 1942 Review documents the year as a time when
World War II cast a long shadow on local lives. Larchmont
was designated a "priority target" and the community
organized local defenses, including air-raid drills and school
evacuation plans. Residents supported the war by collecting
scrap metal and entertaining soldiers stationed nearby.
Larchmonters began to go off to war. Some did not return,
and their names will be read on Memorial Day. One
name is Woodrow Wilson Johns. (See: 1942
Year in Review for the entire list.)
WOODROW WILSON JOHNS
"Woodrow Wilson
Johns, is my father. He was killed in the battle of
Okinawa, May 12, 1945,
just about one month before V-E Day.
Okinawa was one
of the bloodiest
battles of the war, similar to Iwo Jima. My dad was
28 when he died. He
lived on East Avenue in Larchmont most of his life
with his parents, Albert &
Beatrice Johns, and his two brothers and two sisters.
He married Olga
Munter from Mamaroneck, and I am their one child.
He
worked at Merrill's
Hardware for a while and then at Douglas aircraft in
Pennsylvania after the
war began. He was fun-loving and friendly to everyone,
I am told. Had a
great sense of humor. I never knew him, as I was 2
when he was killed, but
he was loved so much and respected by everyone who
knew him."
-Colleen (Johns) Mistretta
"He joined the Marines in 1943.
He worked at both Curtis Aircraft and Chance-Vought
prior to his
enlistment in inspections and quality control of military aircraft, inc. the
Corsair. He may have attended both Mamaroneck
High School, you may want to check on this. His name is also on a monument somewhere
across from Mamaroneck High
School. (Editor's Note -This is the Kemper Memorial.) He originally entered the
Marines to work with aircraft, but
became ill while at Parris Island. During the week he was ill, his unit was sent
out. Upon his recovery he was transferred to
a new unit, then sent to Okinawa. He received the Bronze Star posthumously."
-Susan Sanders
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