Frederick C. ‘Fox’ Johnson, RADM, U.S. Navy, (Ret.)

SAN DIEGO, CA — REAR ADMIRAL Frederick C. “Fox” Johnson U.S. Navy (retired), age 96, passed away, peacefully on January 5, 2022. Rear Admiral Johnson, born on September 3, 1925 was the oldest of four children of Charles A. and Carrie M. Johnson then living in a small country town in northern Minnesota.

Johnson enlisted in the United States Navy in February, 1943, and commenced active duty on completion of an accelerated graduation program in early April that year. He served on cruisers and destroyers in the South, Central and Western Pacific Ocean areas escorting aircraft carrier strike and amphibious task forces from the invasion of Tarawa and throughout the rest of World War II. VJ-DAY found him serving in an amphibious assault communications team preparing to board a tank landing ship (LST ) for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. The team

September 3, 1925 - January 5, 2022 was disbanded at the end of the war, and he subsequently served in a variety of far-western Pacific Fleet ships as the Navy downsized.

He re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy, immediately, on expiration of his enlistment and saw duty in the Atlantic Fleet until September 1947, when ordered to attend the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School, Bainbridge, Maryland. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland in June1948, graduating on 6 June 1952. He served on continuous active

duty until retirement on 01 September 1983, completing almost fortyone years of uniformed service.

Admiral Johnson was a veteran of World War

II, the Korean War, War in Vietnam and the Cold War. He commanded six individual warships over time and commanded Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-ONE (a squadron of eight destroyers) and later as the commander of an exercise aircraft carrier battle group at sea. Ashore, he served on the staff of the COMMANDER in CHIEF, U.S. PACIFIC FLEET, commanded a major training command as well as serving three tours of duty on the staff of the CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, the Pentagon.

Admiral “Fox” Johnson served over three quarters of his career on sea duty, mostly in command of ships or as assigned to the staffs of various aviation units in the western Pacific. Admiral Johnson’s post active-duty employment included service as a consultant to IBM, ALCOA, the University of Connecticut and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California. Admiral Johnson and former Miss Holly Murphy from Florence, South Dakota were married at the Naval Academy Chapel on 7 June 1952. The couple had three children including Holly Diane Mooney, now deceased; the wife of Commander Daniel P. Mooney, U.S. Naval Reserve; Kandy Karen Patty, wife of David C. Patty; and son Frederick C. Johnson, Jr. The couple also had one grandchild, Sarah Beth Mooney, wife of Michael Chaney; and one great-grandchild, Veronica Chaney. RADM Johnson’s remains will be inurned, beside his wife, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

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