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Papers from the estate of Corporal Solon Johnson USMC, Battery D, 1st
Defense Battalion, relating to his service on Wake Island and subsequent
imprisonment by the Japanese at Woo Sung Prison Camp, China. Documents
include:
The Log of Battery
D by Captain B. D. Godbold USMC, covering events from 8 December to 21
December 1941 during the doomed defense of Wake Island.
Japanese Proclamation handed out to American survivors after the fall of
Wake.
Postcard sent
to the United States by PFC Johnson from "Barrack No. I-Sec., Shanghai
War-prisoner's Camp."
Letter sent from
United States to PFC Solon Johnson via "Prisoner of War Post".
Eight pen and
wash drawings of Woo Sung Prison Camp, including a map of the camp, by
Gurdon H. Wattles. (Only two are shown here).
Letter from the War Department, dated 2 June 1943, to a representative
of the American Red Cross chapter in Quitman, Mississippi, Mr. W.L. Meadows,
in response to an inquiry written by Mr. Meadows on behalf of PFC Johnson,
informing Mr. Meadows that PFC Johnson, as a prisoner of war, was entitled
to his full pay and allowances, which would continue to accrue throughout
his imprisonment.
Typed program for a Entertainment staged by freed American prisoners on
Guam immediately after war's end, featuring the "Guam Seranaders" and the
"Woo Sung Quartette".
Restricted Letter from CINCPAC-CINCPOA, dated 5 September 1945, to PFC
Johnson on Guam, in regard to "Publicity in Connection with Liberated Prisoners
of War", specifying what information about his imprisonment he was permitted,
and not permitted, to divulge to the press. Letter includes a "Security
Certificate", requiring signature, indicating that the recipient of the
letter understands and complies with its contents.
Presidential Unit
Citation to the Wake Detachment of the 1st Defense Battalion, signed by
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Printed expression of appreciation, on White House letterhead, "To you
who answered the call of your country and served in its armed forces...",
addressed to "Solon Lamar Johnson" and signed by Harry Truman.
Letter, dated 13 October 1952, from a Mr. Jim Halley to Mr. Noah Sarlat,
editor of the he-man magazines, Male, Stag and Men, proposing to do a story
based on Solon Johnson's experiences as a prisoner of war, the story to
be entitled: "I Rode the Stink-Ship Out of Wake".
Certificate, printed on White House letterhead, which reads "The United
States of America honors the memory of SOLON L. JOHNSON, etc." Signed by
Lyndon A. Johnson.
Solon Johnson died at age 45, due to deprivations suffered during the
war. Weighing 192 pounds at the time of his capture, he weighed 103 pounds
when liberated. He passed the final year of his life in a bed at the Veteran's
Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. |
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The definitive history of the
Siege of Wake Island.
Based on interviews with over seventy
American and Japanese participants.
Published in 1997. 727 pages.
A sequel, Victory in Defeat:
The Defenders of Wake Island
as Prisoners of War,
is in the works.
Visit the author's website.
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