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Retired Col. Jesse Johnson
One of the most decorated soldiers who served in wars and operations from Vietnam to Desert Storm died last Tuesday at his Lumpkin County home, surrounded by his loving family.
Retired Col. Jesse Loftis Johnson’s exploits are mentioned in 28 books and his friendships range from privates to generals, millionaires, and even a king, but few outside the military community ever heard his name.
Johnson decided to become a soldier at 14 when his beloved older brother, Daily, came home from the Army.
“I decided that day I would be a paratrooper,” he told The Nugget when interviewed as the keynote speaker at the 2018 Memorial Day Service sponsored by the Lumpkin County Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee.
Johnson grew up in a large family in rural Pocahontas, Ark. where his parents had a farm. He couldn’t get enough of stories about World War II and its heroes.
He graduated high school at 17, and talked his mother into signing the papers necessary for him to join the Army. Entering as a private, he rose in the ranks to retire as a colonel in 1993.
“He came from nothing and became one of our greatest and lesser-known heroes,” said Alex Holstein, who co-authored a book of Johnson’s life in the military.
Holstein had never written a biography before. He writes fiction and has two published novels, but mostly, he said, he works “punching up scripts” for TV in Canada.
“My friend Mike Williams told me about Col. Johnson,” said Holstein. “He served with him during the Gulf War. He said his life would read like a thriller, the kind of book I enjoy, and it does. He’s like a character right out of Tom Clancy.” (In fact, he does appear in one of Clancy’s books, Every Man a Tiger.)
Holstein gave Johnson a call, and was hooked. He spent an entire year interviewing him, spending four years total start to finish. The book, entitled Warfighter, was published this past Memorial Day. It is written in first person and reads much like a novel, but it is entirely true.
“I had kept a record, albums of all the places we’d been and things he had done. I had 11 thick albums, and I shared them with Alex,” said Johnson’s wife Judith. “And Jesse had kept a journal with all the dates and events. Alex was very thorough in checking all the information.”
COMBAT TESTED
Those “dates and events” range from the days Johnson spent in Vietnam in beginning in 1965 where he earned three bronze medals and three silver stars performing acts of valor, three Purple Hearts for wounds during combat and a Distinguished Service Cross.
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest honor bestowed by the Army. It denotes extreme gallantry and risk of life in combat.
Johnson receive a battlefield promotion from sergeant to 1st Lieutenant for his heroic actions in saving the lives of fellow soldiers.
His wife, Judith, said she knew what she was getting herself in for when she married her husband. The two grew up in the same small town and went to school together.
“I knew the military was what wanted to do. I knew I’d be staying home and raising children and he would be away. And I was aware of the danger, especially when he was in Vietnam,” she said.
Wounded three times, he did not want his wife to get notified by the Army. Instead, she said, “He would write me a letter about what he was doing and then say, ‘Oh, by the way, I was shot in the chest but I’m OK.’”
All through these years Johnson attended schools to further his Army career, and when he could, attended night school to earn his BA in history from the University of Tampa and a Master’s in international relations from Boston University. He was also awarded an honorary Ph.D. in laws from the same institution.
As Johnson rose in the ranks and completed the Army Command and General Staff College, as well as the War College at Kingston, Ontario, he served as the Deputy Commander of the elite DELTA Force at Ft. Bragg, N.C. He had been personally invited to join the full-time counterterrorism force by the group’s founder, Col. “Chargin’ Charlie” Beckwith.
Johnson took part in the ill-fated Iran hostage rescue mission, the rescue of the American students in Granada and the search for Brigadier Gen. James Dozier when he was held captive by the Italian Red Brigade terrorist organization.
During the attempt to rescue 52 American hostages, eight of Johnson’s fellow soldiers were lost in a plane crash.
“Those men were important to him—all his men were,” said his daughter, Tambra (Tammi) Johnson-Scales. “Shortly after he got back to the states Ross Perot called and donated money to fund college scholarships for all their children. Dad helped him create a foundation, the Special Operations Warriors Foundation, that has continued to do that ever since.”
DELTA SQUAD DAYS
It wasn’t until that event that Judith had any idea what her husband was doing on those days he wasn’t at home at Ft. Bragg. A friend called and asked if she was watching the news.
“They told me a plane we had gone into Iraq and a plane had gone down…and there was no one for me to call and ask if Jesse was on that plane,” she said.“I didn’t know what he was doing when he was in DELTA. He’d leave for a couple of days and not tell me anything. I didn’t know to be afraid.”
DELTA wasn’t the only elite force Johnson served in and led. He commanded the 10th Special Forces and SOCCENT (Special Operations Command of Central Command). While in that position he deployed to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm and actually “had the opportunity to start the war [Desert Storm],” he told author Holstein.
He presented his plan for breaking the Iraqi defenses to Gen. Chuck Horner, US Air Force Central Command. He sent “eight Apache and four Air Force helicopters to knock out the radar sites in Iraq so our planes could hit Baghdad that night.”
He was “an unassuming hero” of the Gulf War, according to Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf in his book It Doesn’t Take a Hero.
During his active duty career Johnson received over 77 awards and decorations and his exploits have been described in 28 books. But he still wasn’t through with service to his country after he retired in 1993.
SOLDIER ON
In 2003 Johnson was back to soldiering. He started one of the US’s first private military contracting firms, Cochise MTS.
He was 65 when he once again led a group of mostly former DELTA operatives on a dangerous mission—confronting al-Queda insurgents on the road leading to Baghdad Airport. Known as “Route Irish,” the road was littered with IEDs and suicide bombers waiting for American convoys to come along. It was known as the most dangerous route in Iraq.
The Johnsons had three girls. Their dad didn’t really have to be strict with them, according to Johnson-Scales.
“We were military brats our whole life. We just knew better,” she said. “He was all business and stern with everyone else, but us girls had him wrapped around our finger.”
Judith saw that side of him too.
“Under that hard core soldier there was kindness,” she said. “There was thoughtfulness and consideration of people’s feelings. He came up through the ranks and he understood, and actually cared and tried to help and mentor the men he commanded. He had a soft belly, but he didn’t always show it.”
He may not have worn his heart on his sleeve, but those who served under him seemed to know he had a heart. Retired Army Gen. David Patraeus, former Commander of the International Security Assistance Force and US Central Command and Director of the CIA praised Johnson in his recently published book Warfighter, saying he was “a hero to me.” Patraeus served under Johnson as a young airborne lieutenant in Vietnam out of West Point.
“He is supremely revered in the military community,” Holstein said. “He was an extraordinary soldier and saved a lot of lives on those battlefields. He loved his country, his family and God. He was steadfast.”
His wife Judith saw it all first hand. And she summed up his life with a simple salute to his heroic service.
“He was a good soldier,” she said.
The Johnsons had three daughters, “Tammi,” Felicia and Shannon.
A celebration of Johnson's life will take place at Dahlonega Funeral Home on Veteran’s Day weekend, with viewings Thursday and Friday, Nov. 10-11, viewing 5-8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 13, when there will be a viewing at 1 p.m. and a service at 4 p.m. with a reception to follow.
Burial will be at Arlington Cemetery at a later date.