I received some sad news over the weekend when I was informed that one of North Dakota's favorite sons had died in Fort Worth, Texas.
Richard L. "Dick" Johnson, the highly-decorated fighter pilot and test pilot from Cooperstown, N.D., succumbed Saturday to brain cancer at the age of 85.
His daughter, Kristie Johnson Averitt of Fort Worth, said her father will be buried with full military honors with his wife, Alvina, on Jan. 7 at Arlington National Cemetery.
Johnson, who once pitched and won both games of a doubleheader for the University of Oregon, was in spring training with the Boston Red Sox in 1942 when wartime service beckoned.
His boyhood friends said flying was the only thing he loved more than baseball, and he'd been doing it since he was just a kid.
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He flew 180 missions in a P-47 Thunderbolt in World War II. Among his awards for bravery were the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 14 air medals, to name a few. He also flew an F-86 in combat during the Korean War.
He had more than 4,500 hours of flying time in 35 different aircraft (including the X-1) before leaving the Air Force in 1953 to become chief test pilot for General Dynamics, first at Edwards Air Force Base in California, then in Fort Worth. He then logged thousands of additional flying hours and won a number of national and international aviation awards, including the Kinchloe award as the nation's top test pilot in 1968 and the Thompson trophy in 1948.
Johnson set a world speed record of just under 671 mph on Sept. 15, 1948, in an F-86. He was the chief test pilot and first to fly the F-102, F-106 and F-111. He also took over the B-58 test program for General Dynamics in 1960 and aided in the development of the F-16 fighter. He rose to the position of director of flight and quality assurance at General Dynamics.
Johnson was an extraordinarily talented pilot, but his daughter said those who knew him personally will remember him best for his humility, integrity, loyalty and kindness.
The week before he died, Johnson received a letter from Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., thanking him for his service to his country.
"You are an American hero, and I am proud that North Dakota can call you one of its own," wrote Conrad.
Conrad also told Johnson he had sent a letter to Gary Ness, director of the North Dakota Department of Aeronautics and head of the selection committee for the North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame.
In the letter to Ness, Conrad said, "I understand that the North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame selection committee will next meet in December to decide who gets initiated into the Hall of Fame. Thank you in advance for considering Dick Johnson for this honor."
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Don Loder of Cooperstown is leading the effort to get Johnson recognized by his home state, an honor he certainly deserves.
Those who knew Johnson say he was every bit as good a pilot as Chuck Yeager -- probably better -- but few people knew about him because he went out of his way to avoid media attention. To Johnson, flying was never about personal recognition; it was about flying purely for the love of flying.
In lieu of cards or flowers, Johnson Averitt said family members have requested that donations be made to the American Cancer Society in memory of R.L. "Dick" Johnson.
Readers can reach Terry DeVine at (701) 241-5515 or tdevine@forumcomm.com
