The Tolls of War: WWI Medic, WIA, POW, and Facial Reconstruction Recipient

[Javelin4life]

This grouping I’m sharing today is sentimental to me, both as a medical professional and from a collector’s standpoint. Save for the uniform, this is one of the most complete groupings I’ve ever had the pleasure of being the caretaker for and is the centerpiece of my collection. This grouping belonged to Pvt. Einar Sundbek Johnson. Johnson, who hailed from Denmark, served as a medic with Ambulance Co. 2, 2nd Division out of Racine County, Wisconsin, and was both a POW and severely wounded while serving overseas. Today would have also been his 126th birthday, as well as the 102nd anniversary of his unit’s mustering. This grouping consists of his medals and insignia, original military documentation, Columbia accolade, original newspaper articles, extremely rare and intact lithograph of his ambulance company, and original photographs. I was fortunate to have his original studio portrait digitally colorized and want to sincerely thank Austin Andre for his help. Anything in quotes is taken directly from the newspaper articles.

 

Johnson was born on July 15th, 1893, in Denmark to a very financially secure family. His father was Mick Johnson. I was not able to find any information on his mother. Einar traveled to and from America as a child constantly; his father’s wealth allowing him such luxuries that few at the time could enjoy. In 1915, He married his wife Mary, and was working at the Gold Medal Camp Furniture company. He was extremely well liked by his coworkers, and was “one of the most popular boys in the company, well developed and physically perfect”. From the time he came to the country, he was always fascinated with the medical field, helping and working with the ambulance and hospitals in his town. When war broke out, he enlisted in the medical division, “the very nature of his everyday tasks no doubt influencing him in that direction”. He shipped over to France on February 10th 1918 with the 32nd Division out of New Jersey. He was later stationed in the Verdun sector of France.

 

On April 13th, 1918, his outpost was subject to a trench raid by German forces. He was captured during this and was taken behind enemy lines. However, this didn’t suit the Dane; “His distaste for this sort of life lasted about 45 minutes when he made a daring escape”. When he reached the barbed wire in front of the US trenches he attempted the move the barbed wire to get through it, slowing him down and allowed the Germans to catch up to him. When Johnson’s men saw what was happening, they began firing at the German's pursuing Johnson. The Germans began to retreat, but not before one threw a hand grenade at Private Johnson hitting him directly in the face and exploding. The violent blast tangled him in the barbed wire and the Americans made no attempt to recover his "body" at the time figuring him for dead after such a blast. It was some time before they went to recover the "body” only to find Johnson was still alive. He was two days away from relief from the front lines when this all occurred.

 

Following this, he was brought to a hospital near where his injury was assessed, and became one of the first Americans to undergo facial reconstructive surgery. The extent of his injury was severe: “the bridge of his nose was shattered, his right cheek torn away as were his teeth and the roof of his mouth, leaving only the jawbone”. However, he remained in good spirits during the process, stating “a soldier can stand anything when he is fighting for his country”. Surgeons used a photo of Johnson from a few years prior to reconstruct the affected side of his face. When he arrived back in America and went to the Mayo Clinic in New Jersey, part of his rib was used to make a new nose. Due to the nature of the operation, he was forced to undergo it without any anesthetic; infection set in however, and the operation was repeated. He made a full recovery, and while physically he was healed, emotionally, he was still scarred- Johnson would only show his unaffected left side of his face in subsequent photos. He would continue this habit for the rest of his life.

 

I was not able to find out much about Pvt. Johnson’s life after the war. He was awarded his Purple Heart in 1933, and had it privately engraved with both his name and where he suffered his injury. I presume he spent much free time traveling between Denmark and America. He and his wife Mary had at least one child, but I haven’t been able to find anything to confirm the other siblings. Their son, Sgt. Einar Sundbek Johnson, enlisted in the army in 1942 and like his father, served with the medical corps. He was captured as a POW and was detained at the Bastages detention camp in the Philippines. On October 24th 1944, while in transit to Japan, the hell ship Arisan Maru was struck by a torpedo. While making an attempt to swim away, Johnson was either shot or drowned; the exact cause of death remains unknown. In 1965, Einar Johnson passed away aged 72. He and his wife are both interred in Racine County, Wisconsin. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/0c6059e5886f09e4c72759e981e8223a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/e784ac29dbba570a66e146aab615a986.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/02b800bf3b37033fc06c2c4713d6c78b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/c9cbb7d5dec87c455dfb8560afa7ba2b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/3f5992d2ec62d483232779648ad56e31.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/52f0da10fd7ea9b16c24f8cffd68b3f3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/4ec25e69a71a2c2cb418e4a9d4f7a67e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/8c1b359c411dfa2d94338cce62992124.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/bbc7a2e7de68e7eb91c23fe7ac655edf.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190715/8c336b3474c281c251c0b6214e5cf77e.jpg

 

 

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[Javelin4life]

 

 

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[11/17thark]

Is the Purple Heart numbered?

[Javelin4life]

Is the Purple Heart numbered?

Yes it is, sorry i forgot to mention

 

 

 

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[joeclown]

Very moving and sad about his son too.

[Hermanus]

A great group for sure.

 

The PH in the pictures is a re-issue and not the one from 1933. The 1933 PH was numbered in the 38,000 range. The one shown in the pictures is of a Rex Company contract from WW2.

 

Sorry to bring you this news.

 

Herman

[Javelin4life]

A great group for sure.

 

The PH in the pictures is a re-issue and not the one from 1933. The 1933 PH was numbered in the 38,000 range. The one shown in the pictures is of a Rex Company contract from WW2.

 

Sorry to bring you this news.

 

Herman

I did pick up on that actually. My guess is the original was mostly likely lost, and he received this one as a replacement.

[kanemono]

Wonderful group!

[KASTAUFFER]

I did pick up on that actually. My guess is the original was mostly likely lost, and he received this one as a replacement.

 

Depends on how he got it. The engraving is not official. If provided by the PQMD, it would not be engraved like this. He would have had this one engraved on his own.

 

Generally replacement medals issued up through the 1950's would be officially engraved,

 

Kurt

[Javelin4life]

 

Depends on how he got it. The engraving is not official. If provided by the PQMD, it would not be engraved like this. He would have had this one engraved on his own.

 

Generally replacement medals issued up through the 1950's would be officially engraved,

 

Kurt

My apologies, I meant to say that he received the replacement part and got it engraved privately.

[katieony]

A very poignant and complete group. Thank you for sharing his story.

 

Mike

[aerialbridge]

Did you do the photo colorization and have in mind that yesterday was his birth anniversary? Nicely done tribute.

[Javelin4life]

Did you do the photo colorization and have in mind that yesterday was his birth anniversary? Nicely done tribute.

Thank you! This was one of my most enjoyable research projects in recent memory. To answer, yes i had help with the colorizing from a friend and yes I intentionally posted it for his birth anniversary.

[BEAST]

Very interesting group. Dr Andrew Bamji, who was at Queen Mary's Hospital Sidcup near London, has conducted a great deal of research into the facial reconstruction techniques of the First World War. Much of his research and other medical information can be found at http://www.gilliesarchives.org.uk.

 

Here is more info on the work done during the war at Queen Mary's Hospital

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/news/2017/8/faces-from-the-front-100-years/

 

 

 

[aznation]

Incredible story of Pvt. Johnson's perseverance in spite of his severe wounds.

 

I hope his parents didn't have access to this particular newspaper that listed him as "Killed in Action".

 

 

[Javelin4life]

Incredible story of Pvt. Johnson's perseverance in spite of his severe wounds.

 

I hope his parents didn't have access to this particular newspaper that listed him as "Killed in Action".

 

 

Wow, this is the first time Ive seen this. My guess is during the aftermath when they saw him after the explosion, they sent a note to their HQ prior to collecting his body and realizing he was still alive.

[aznation]

Posted Today, 02:29 PM

aznation, on 16 Jul 2019 - 1:45 PM, said:

Incredible story of Pvt. Johnson's perseverance in spite of his severe wounds.

 

I hope his parents didn't have access to this particular newspaper that listed him as "Killed in Action".

 

 

Wow, this is the first time Ive seen this. My guess is during the aftermath when they saw him after the explosion, they sent a note to their HQ prior to collecting his body and realizing he was still alive.

 

 

I guess that possible. Out of all the newspapers I looked at, which most were of the same date, May 9, 1918, that paper was the only one I found that showed his name under "Killed in Action". All the other newspapers showed his name under "Severely Wounded". I guess it could've been just a mistake on the part of that particular newspaper, but what a mistake to make.

[FFZFlyer]

A great group for sure.

 

The PH in the pictures is a re-issue and not the one from 1933. The 1933 PH was numbered in the 38,000 range. The one shown in the pictures is of a Rex Company contract from WW2.

 

Sorry to bring you this news.

 

Herman

 

I dont have the engraving knowledge that many others here have, but it looks to me as if the name is official engraving but someone else added the other information. Theres a noticeable difference in the n and the r.

 

Regardless, this group is symbolic of the severe injuries suffered by so many in all wars. I cannot begin to imagine the mental sufferings he endured for the rest of his life.

[aerialbridge]

I dont have the engraving knowledge that many others here have, but it looks to me as if the name is official engraving but someone else added the other information. Theres a noticeable difference in the n and the r.

 

Regardless, this group is symbolic of the severe injuries suffered by so many in all wars. I cannot begin to imagine the mental sufferings he endured for the rest of his life.

 

Enduring his injuries for the rest of his life, and the pain of being a Gold Star family and losing what might have been his only child in the next war.

[Javelin4life]

Thank you everyone for the kind words and feedback. This being such a poignant group was one of my most sentimental write ups and really tried to paint the picture (no pun intended) of not just this soldiers service, but life after the war and the figurative and literal scars he endured as a result.

[bobgee]

Outstanding story & presentation. Thank you for sharing. May he Rest in Peace.