Steven Charles Johnson

Steven Charles Johnson was born in Worthington, Minnesota and moved to Rock Rapids and then Alvord while in high school. He was very involved in sports and graduated from West Lyon High School in the class of 1966. He attended Wartburg College for a semester before leaving school to wait for his induction call which came in April 1968. He was selected for the Army Special Forces Green Berets and trained in radio communication, special warfare, survival training and received his wings as a paratrooper. After arrival in Vietnam in February 1970, he spent 42 days in Cambodia during the military incursion. SGT Johnson was then assigned to an airboat patrolling on the Mekong River in Tay Ninh Province. On October 6, 1970 the crew was ambushed and Johnson received serious head wounds. Although hospitalized, he died the following day. He was buried in Christ Lutheran Cemetery in Lyon County.