William Johnson Jr.

Born in Phillisburg, Pennsylvania in 1933 to William Johnson Sr. and Margaret (Witherite) Johnson, Bill was the oldest of ten children. He completed an 8th grade education before leaving school to work on a farm, then later peeled potatoes in a hospital before joining the military in 1950.

During his service, Bill trained as a cook and was quickly promoted to manage Officers Clubs. He was also assigned to a Top Secret group known as The Black Bats, a partnership between the CIA and the nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan. The group conducted covert air operations such as dropping agents and propaganda, and collecting signals and intelligence. Bill rarely talked about this interesting part of his military service because it was classified, but it has since been declassified and there is a published book about the group and it’s aerial espionage. During his 20 years of service, Bill traveled all over the US, and to England, France, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and most importantly, Thailand, where he met his wife of 50 years, Rungthip (known as Lexie).

Bill is survived by Lexie; his daughter Sandy Gurchik and son-in-law Frank Gurchik; daughter Robin Daugherty and son-in-law Sean Daugherty; daughter Rhonda McWilliam and son-in-law Robert McWilliam; granddaughters Gabrielle and Isla McWilliam; and brothers Richard Johnson, Kenneth Johnson and Larry Johnson, as well as countless nieces and nephews.

A private service will be held at Fairhaven Memorial in Mission Viejo, California. Bill will be buried at Miramar Veterans Cemetery in late September with Honor Guard detail and a final flyover salute.

Cards for the family can be sent to 16 Tango Lane, Ladera Ranch, CA 92694. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Bill’s favorite charities: the Veterans of Foreign Wars at www.vfw.org or the Humane Society at www.humanesociety.org

Fond memories, photos and expressions of sympathy may be shared here for the family.