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Lt. Col. Maurice L. Johnson, USAF retired, age 94, departed on his final flight August 22, 2016. Maurice was born March 3, 1922, in Odon, Indiana to Herschel and Hannah Ava Johnson. The family moved to Bloomington when Maurice was a little boy and he, with his younger sister and brother, was raised during the great depression. As a teenager, he went several years to the Indiana State Fair with the marching band and always enjoyed big band music. He graduated from Bloomington High School. Maurice was passionate about aviation and managed to obtain his pilot’s license and gain experience flying airplanes around central Indiana.
In June 1942, after passing two year college equivalency test requirement, Maurice Johnson enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. After a one and a half year training period at several bases, he qualified as the pilot for the B-24 Liberator 4 engine bombers. In May 1944 he and his nine-man crew flew a new B-24 from Liberal, Kansas to southern Italy via South America and Africa. Over the next four months, Captain Johnson was credited with flying the required 50 combat missions over eastern and central Europe to qualify for return to the USA. He and his crew had many close calls, but Captain Johnson always managed to make it back to safety. Many of his friends and fellow air men were not so fortunate. On his return to the USA, Captain Johnson served as an instructor for the B-24 pilots who were in training and took advanced training in aircraft maintenance.
Captain Johnson met Norma Jean Richardson of Bloomington and on January 1, 1947, they were married. They shared nearly 20 years of U.S. Air Force life while raising two daughters. Their posting included Tucson, Arizona, then to Germany where Captain Johnson flew in the Berlin Aircraft and they had their first daughter. Then to Langly, Virginia where the first U.S. jet bomber, the B45-A5 was being tested and pilots trained. From 1952 to 1955, now with their second daughter, Maurice flew B-45 jet bombers from his base in England to skies over Europe to counter Soviet threats. Then postings to Clovis, NM, Bunker Hill, IN, and Myrtle Beach, SC. From 1961-1964 the family was in Ankara, Turkey. During that time Major Johnson directed the negotiated transfer of 40 U.S. Lockheed F-104 fighter aircraft to the Turkish Air Force during the Cuban missile crisis. From 1964 – 1966 Lt. Col. Johnson and family were in North Carolina where he served as Director of Materiel for the 933rd Air Division.
After retiring from the USAF in 1966, “Col.” Johnson and family returned to Bloomington, Indiana to join Indiana University as a coordinator in the new Cyclotron construction. After the Cyclotron had been completed, he worked with the purchasing dept. until his retirement in 1988. Throughout his career and in retirement “Col.” developed many interests. He maintained a machine shop with two lathes, milling machine, shaper, and much more. He enjoyed old steam engine shows and he built his own fully functional coal-fired scale model steam tractor over a four-year period. “Col.” Enjoyed gunsmithing, hunting and fishing, target shooting, and collecting firearms, particularly old military pieces. He attended antique clock and watch shows and collected some of both. “Col.” Was a member of the VFW, American Legion, and Masons. He was a true member of “The Greatest Generation”!
“Col.” Johnson is survived by his daughter Beth Eikenberry (Lynn), sister Barbara (Don-deceased) Holmquist and nephew Mark Holmquist. He was preceded in death by his wife, Norma Jean, in 1988, his daughter, Patricia Kinser, in 2010 and his brother Carlton Johnson. “Col.” Johnson also leaves behind close and supportive friends.
Visitation will be 5-8pm Thursday, August 25, 2016 at The Funeral Chapel of Powell and Deckard, 3000 E. Third St. Bloomington, IN 47401.
Funeral services will be 11:30am Friday at The Funeral Chapel. Burial will follow at Valhalla Memory Gardens where the Monroe County Veteran’s Honor Guard and the United States Air Force will perform Military Rites.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Monroe County Veteran’s Honor, 2850 S. Brookside Dr. Bloomington, IN 47401.