Remembering a Cousin Lost at Pearl Harbor

When he was born, we named our oldest son Grant Derby Laws. Grant became the seventh generation of oldest sons in my family with the middle name Derby. The first was William Derby Johnson, son of Ezekiel Johnson of Grafton, Massachusetts.

When he was sixteen years old, William’s grandson Carl Spencer Johnson lied about his age and enlisted in the US Navy. What was particularly curious is that the United States was not at war at the time–it was December 1939.

Two years later, in November 1941, Carl wrote home about his ongoing studies to become a gunner’s mate and petty officer. That was the last letter the family received from Carl. He worked aboard the USS West Virginia based in Pearl Harbor.

On December 7, 1941, seven Japanese torpedoes struck the West Virginia. Doing his duty, Seaman First Class Johnson flooded the powder hold in order to lower the risk of explosion. He was never seen again.

His father, William Derby Johnson, Jr., recorded in his journal, “My how we suffer. I have had some hard blows but this got me down. I feel the bottom dropped out.”

In 1942, the Navy raised the ship and recovered the remains of thirty-four men. In August 2019, scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used DNA to identify Seaman First Class Johnson’s remains.

On January 15, 2021, more than 79 years after his death, Carl Spencer Johnson returned home and was interred in his family plot in Phoenix, Arizona.

This December 7, I thank my second cousin and his family for their sacrifice, and I honor the men and women who have given their all in the defense of our freedoms. Below is the final letter he wrote home. Reading it gives me a great view of the United States at that time. His concerns are all about his education, Thanksgiving, finding out what family wants for Christmas, and so forth—he has no idea that the Japanese navy has already approved the attack plan and that the whole generation will be changed in just three weeks