Army Lieutenant Colonel Dennis M. Johnson - Wisconsin Military Casualty Compilation - September 11, 2001 Attack

5 July 2011

Army Lieutenant Colonel Dennis M. Johnson - Wisconsin Military Casualty Compilation - September 11, 2001 Attack

This entry was posted on 7/5/2011 1:30 AM and is filed under Wisconsin Military Casualties Afghanistan Iraq Compilation.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Michael Johnson, 48, of Port Edwards, Wisconsin, died Tuesday, September 11, 2001. He was killed when hijacked American Airlines flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon during the September 11 terrorist attacks. Johnson was assigned to the Army staff at the Pentagon. Lieutenant Colonel Johnson was an Adjutant General Corps Officer. He was on his second tour at the Pentagon, with his most recent assignment being the Chief of Personnel Services. 

Dennis Johnson was a native of Port Edwards, Wisconsin. He was born April 1, 1953. Port Edwards is a town with adjacent Village of Port Edwards with a combined population of around 3500. They are located near the center of the state along the Wisconsin River just south of the city of Wisconsin Rapids. Johnson graduated from John Edwards High School, Port Edwards, Wisconsin in 1971. He began his military training in the ROTC program at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He graduated there in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Johnson was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Adjutant General Corps in December of 1975. 

Among Johnson's earlier career assignments were tours of duty at Fort Knox, Kentucky; then, Mainz, Germany. He received training in Military Club Management and served as the Area Club Manager at his duty station in Germany. In the mid 1980s he attended Florida International University in Miami, Florida, graduating with a Master’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. 

He spent assignments at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and there also served as the Installation Club Manager, and later as the Chief of Personnel for Headquarters Company. In August 1988 he was assigned to Fort Richardson, Alaska, to head the Command for 203rd Personnel Service Company. 

After Alaska, Johnson attended the Command and General Staff College as a staff leader at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After a year there he was assignment to the Pentagon in 1991 as a Program Budget Officer; later, as the Executive Officer to the Director of Operations and Support for the Army Budget Office. 

After the first Pentagon tour he was sent to Wheeler Army Air Force Base on Oahu, Hawaii, as the Chief Resource Management Officer for the Defense Information Systems Agency, Pacific. His next orders brought him to Alexandria, Virginia, in 1998 where he worked at ATEC/OPTEC in the Operational Test and Evaluation Command as the Deputy Chief of Staff-Personnel. In May of 2000 Johnson accepted what was to become his last assignment and it was as the Chief of Personnel Services for the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Pentagon. 
Lieutenant Colonel Johnson was remembered as a loyal and dedicated soldier. Co-workers said he treated people in his department like family and made it a point to speak with people as often as possible. 

Johnson met his wife Joyce in college in 1973 and they married in 1979. He is remembered as an honest, loving husband and father. 

Lieutenant Colonel Johnson’s military awards and decorations include: Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster); Purple Heart; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster); Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon (3rd award); Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with Oak Leaf Cluster); Army Superior Unit Award; and, the Army Staff Badge. 

At the time of his death Army Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Johnson was survived by his wife, Joyce; two children, Dawn and Cassie; parents, Bob and Elva Johnson; and, his three younger siblings, Diane Czlapinski, Richard Johnson, and Gail Lindner. 

On September 29, 2001, Army Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Johnson received full military honors and was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Information for this short biography about Army Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Michael Johnson was pieced together from the following sources: penagonmemorial.org, "LTC Dennis M. Johnson";  Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs, "Fallen Heroes Page";  and, CNN.com, "War Casualties Page." 

Note: This "Wisconsin Military Casualties Afghanistan Iraq Compilation" Daily Dadio blog Category is under construction. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Wisconsin War Casualties Page for a list of names noted by date of death.
[ If readers know of other military service persons with Wisconsin connections that are not on the Web site comprehensive list of fatal casualties, or notice errors, please email Bob Keith at keithrg13@cooldadiomedia.com ]