thedrifter
03-16-09, 04:08 AM
Humility comes with the job for Bronze Star winner
By DUSTIN KASS | dustin.kass@lee.net
The certificate presented to Navy Commander Peter Johnson along with his Bronze Star award heaps praise on the actions of the Winona native for his service as a command surgeon in Operation Enduring Freedom.
In part, it reads, “Commander Johnson’s expertise was demonstrated when called to provide emergency care to survivors of a downed aircraft. His immediate response provided a range of surgical and trauma care options that were absolutely critical to the survival of several casualties.”
Johnson is reluctant to provide many more details about the incident, both because of an overwhelming modesty, an “anybody would have done the same thing” attitude, and because his military clearances limit what he can discuss.
So the aircraft crash and his response to it are
primarily limited to the details provided on the certificate, which commends Johnson’s service from Nov. 22, 2006, to April 12, 2007. Johnson only says that service was in Afghanistan.
It’s not the kind of response one would expect from a serviceman receiving such a highly regarded honor, but Johnson is not an average serviceman. The Bronze Medal wasn’t even the most impressive award he received during a January ceremony — he was also awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the third-highest award given to members of the U.S. military. And though his career so far seems like the résumé a screenwriter would create for the main character of a movie about a military hero, the 44-year-old Johnson plays off his achievements as just a matter of circumstance and nothing more.
“I think for me it’s a matter of chance and opportunity,” he said.
It may have started with Boy Scouts. At least that’s what Johnson and his family repeatedly reference when asked about his decorated career. They talk about him becoming an Eagle Scout in Winona.
Johnson’s college career was largely standard, at least initially. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1987 as a non-traditional student at the College of Saint Teresa in Winona.
His path soon veered from the average. Johnson garnered a four-year Navy scholarship and, after taking a year off, entered medical school at Northwestern University. He graduated from Northwestern in 1992 and was soon commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Johnson’s assignments in the coming years read almost like fiction, but he simply calls them “chance” and “opportunity.” Johnson served on several Marine Corps ships in the Pacific Theater. He went to Navy dive school, became a certified airborne paratrooper and completed training to be a submariner. He ventured south for jungle warfare training twice, the first a three-month stint in Panama with the Army Rangers and the second in South America with the French Foreign Legion that focus on hand-to-hand combat and weapons and demolition training.
He later joined the Navy Seals and served in Bosnia and Kosovo. He served a full residency at Pensacola Naval Hospital and later spent another year training in trauma surgery techniques.
Johnson headed to Iraq in 2001 and has spent most of his time since then in overseas deployments he’s volunteered for, he said. He has done two more tours with the Marines. He then spent three more years with the Navy Seals, serving as the senior medical officer for explosive ordinance disposal.
He now serves as an advisor for the use of medical assets in both current military conflicts as well as possible future excursions. It’s a storied career, but it’s still something he shrugs off.
Peter’s little brother, Paul Johnson, tries to explain his brother’s attitude.
“For him, it becomes second nature for him to jump into these things,” he said.
Ellie
By DUSTIN KASS | dustin.kass@lee.net
The certificate presented to Navy Commander Peter Johnson along with his Bronze Star award heaps praise on the actions of the Winona native for his service as a command surgeon in Operation Enduring Freedom.
In part, it reads, “Commander Johnson’s expertise was demonstrated when called to provide emergency care to survivors of a downed aircraft. His immediate response provided a range of surgical and trauma care options that were absolutely critical to the survival of several casualties.”
Johnson is reluctant to provide many more details about the incident, both because of an overwhelming modesty, an “anybody would have done the same thing” attitude, and because his military clearances limit what he can discuss.
So the aircraft crash and his response to it are
primarily limited to the details provided on the certificate, which commends Johnson’s service from Nov. 22, 2006, to April 12, 2007. Johnson only says that service was in Afghanistan.
It’s not the kind of response one would expect from a serviceman receiving such a highly regarded honor, but Johnson is not an average serviceman. The Bronze Medal wasn’t even the most impressive award he received during a January ceremony — he was also awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the third-highest award given to members of the U.S. military. And though his career so far seems like the résumé a screenwriter would create for the main character of a movie about a military hero, the 44-year-old Johnson plays off his achievements as just a matter of circumstance and nothing more.
“I think for me it’s a matter of chance and opportunity,” he said.
It may have started with Boy Scouts. At least that’s what Johnson and his family repeatedly reference when asked about his decorated career. They talk about him becoming an Eagle Scout in Winona.
Johnson’s college career was largely standard, at least initially. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1987 as a non-traditional student at the College of Saint Teresa in Winona.
His path soon veered from the average. Johnson garnered a four-year Navy scholarship and, after taking a year off, entered medical school at Northwestern University. He graduated from Northwestern in 1992 and was soon commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Johnson’s assignments in the coming years read almost like fiction, but he simply calls them “chance” and “opportunity.” Johnson served on several Marine Corps ships in the Pacific Theater. He went to Navy dive school, became a certified airborne paratrooper and completed training to be a submariner. He ventured south for jungle warfare training twice, the first a three-month stint in Panama with the Army Rangers and the second in South America with the French Foreign Legion that focus on hand-to-hand combat and weapons and demolition training.
He later joined the Navy Seals and served in Bosnia and Kosovo. He served a full residency at Pensacola Naval Hospital and later spent another year training in trauma surgery techniques.
Johnson headed to Iraq in 2001 and has spent most of his time since then in overseas deployments he’s volunteered for, he said. He has done two more tours with the Marines. He then spent three more years with the Navy Seals, serving as the senior medical officer for explosive ordinance disposal.
He now serves as an advisor for the use of medical assets in both current military conflicts as well as possible future excursions. It’s a storied career, but it’s still something he shrugs off.
Peter’s little brother, Paul Johnson, tries to explain his brother’s attitude.
“For him, it becomes second nature for him to jump into these things,” he said.
Ellie