Ellsworth Johnson, a World War II veteran who was the last surviving member of a United States Army Operational Group that spawned the U.S. Army Special Forces, has passed at 100.
His daughter-in-law confirmed the news, according to The New York Times.
It comes four weeks after Johnson, a medic who parachuted into France and China, was presented with an Army Special Forces tab and a green beret at the assisted living facility where he lived in Zeeland, Michigan. A tab signifies a special skill and is worn on U.S. Army uniforms.
Johnson had served under the Office of Strategic Services, an intelligence agency for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He volunteered to join the command and was placed in the French operational group after training.
His 25-man team, code-named "Patrick," parachuted into enemy-occupied France in August 1944 to capture a hydroelectric plant and gather intelligence just before the Allied invasion.
Afterward, Johnson volunteered to serve in China to provide medical care and train Chinese troops in airborne capabilities. He returned home to Michigan at the end of the war in 1945.
"This is an extremely rare event and, quite frankly, the last of its kind that will ever occur," Maj. Russell M. Gordon of the 1st Special Forces Command said at the ceremony.
Johnson "laid the groundwork for what we are today," continued Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson of the Army Special Operations Command. "Everything that he did in 1944 we model ... in our training and the operations that we conduct. It's our origin story."
The war hero was born on July 5, 1923, in Ohio, the son of parents of Swedish and Dutch descent. His father, John, was a handyman who was also once in the Army. His mother was Marie Johnson.
In 1947, Johnson married Jeanette DeBoer. They were together until she passed in 2021. He has three children, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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