Abraham Allen Johnson

Abraham Allen Johnson was born on 24 September 1899 in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut, to Louis (1869-?) Johnson and his first wife, Annie (maiden name unknown) (1865-?). Johnson was the eldest of seven children; Henry (1890-?), Alexander (1891-?), Ada (1893-1971), Bessie (1894-?), Dora (1897-?) and Maxwell (1903-?). In the early 1900s, the family lived at 47 Canal Street, Waterbury; the 1910s, 98 Dikeman (or Dickman/Dickeman) Street.

Information related to Johnson’s early education is unknown; in 1917, he worked as a factory hand.

Johnson enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard on 25 April 1917 in New Haven; he was assigned to Co. G, 2^nd Infantry, Connecticut National Guard- federalized into the 102^nd Infantry Regiment- 26^th Infantry Division. Private Johnson and Co. G left the United States on 27 October 1917 aboard the U.S. Army Transport Ship Adriatic. Private Johnson received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions at Marcheville, France on 26 September 1918;

“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Private Abe Allen Johnson (ASN: 65165), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company G, 102d Infantry Regiment, 26th Division, A.E.F., at Marcheville, France, 26 September 1918. Private Johnson volunteered to accompany a party whose mission was to bombard a hostile machine-gun emplacement. Under heavy shell fire he approached to within 30 feet of the emplacement, when he was fired upon through loopholes in a stone wall. Working his way behind the wall, Private Johnson enfiladed the enemy -with rifle fire and effected their capture, with the machine-gun.”

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“…And, as proof of their heorism, were any proof needed, several Waterbury members of the now-famous regiment wore either the Distinguished Service Cross or the Croix de Guerre and at least one Waterbury soldier, returning on the Agamemnon, wore both. Private Abe Johnson of Company G, a little fellow hardly bigger than a pint of peanuts, charged a German machine gun nest single-handed and brought in eleven prisoners, for which trifling feat both the DSC and French war cross were awarded to him, after which he received the biggest honor of all, the French palm, awarded for having been cited four times”.

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Pvt Johnson may have also received the Croix de Guerre (unknown level, potentially with Bronze Palm). Pvt Johnson was wounded in action on 7 October due to an unknown cause; he and Co. G left Brest, France in April of 1919 aboard the U.S. Army Transport Ship Agamemnon. Johnson was Honorably Discharged on 29 April.

Upon his return home, Johnson lived with his sister, Ada Johnson Saxe, brother in law, Robert Saxe (1893-1992), and brother, Maxwell Johnson, on North Main Street in Waterbury. He worked as a firefighter for the city. On 20 February 1927, Johnson married Rose Raphael (1901-1985) in New Haven, the couple had two children, Leonard (1933-?), and Lewis (1937-?). In the 1930s the family lived at 289 Norton Street, the 1940s into 1950s, 636 Ellsworth Ave, both in New Haven. Johnson worked as a retailer, owning and managing the Johnson Wholesale Perfume Co. Inc, at one point, located at 953 Dixwell Ave. in Hamden.

Johnson remained a member of the Connecticut National Guard, retiring at the rank of Colonel before 1963. He was a member of the Army-Navy Legion of Valor, and served as the Junior Vice-Commander, Senior Commander, and National Commander from the 1940s to 1960s. Johnson was an aide to Connecticut Governor Raymond Baldwin for several years in the 1940s.

It is unknown for how long he operated his wholesale business; by 1963, Johnson served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Community Bank and Trust Co. of New Haven.

Little else is known of Johnson’s life, he died on 11 April 1975 in Branford, Connecticut, and is buried at the Congregation Mishkan Israel Cemetery in New Haven.