Remembering Jim Johnston




Monument in Sweden

 



Denise Boonie and Mary Johnston Baker

 



Mary Johnston Baker and Jill Haubrick

 





Karl Allmenröder

 
 


 Åse Allmenröder, Karl Allmenröder, Katarina Knutsson, Isabell Knutsson, LilleMor Skoglund-Andersson, Mikey Lennartsson

 









Mary Johnston Baker

Mary and I went to the historic courthouse in Lewistown on October 20th to honor and remember Mary’s husband, Jim Johnston, who died 66 years ago, along with 5 other crew members, while flying a secret mission over Sweden. Since Jim is buried in Luxembourg and Mary has never been able to visit his grave site, the courthouse has become a symbolic place to memorialize Jim. We said a special prayer and a poem written to the wife of one of the other crew members, Robert “Paul” Buchanan, all those years ago:

Dear Mrs. Buchanan:

I am taking the liberty of writing you this letter, in a fervent hope that I can ease your great loss somewhat. The boys of the air forces don’t ever think of their friends as gone. They think of them as having been ordered to another post and that by the time they arrive there, they will be waiting for them with the situation well in hand.

They, who fly up there with their thoughts and so very near to God, know they aren’t really gone, and that in just a short while they will be bringing their ship in for a landing at the same field, and again meet the loved ones of the squadron who were transferred before them.

Every pilot’s wish is to “go out” in his plane in a blaze of glory. They are a special breed, having to fear of anything but only that burning desire to live and die airplanes!

Paul was one of that breed, I know. And I know he has no regrets, but is only scanning the skies for his old friends to land at the field in the sky and waiting for you to arrive and be as proud of his exploits up there as you were proud of them here on earth.

I know that when the time comes for my transfer, his first question will be if his wife is still doing her job and remaining happy that her husband could be one of that foolish band of people we call pilots.

Then later they will fly wing-tip to wing-tip and their proud parents and loved ones, who probably had so much regret at their flying, will know that they loved flying from their first breath until their last.

A very sincere friend.



As we remembered Jim and his crew, we also knew that our friends in Sweden were gathered at the site of the crash and saying their own prayers and lighting candles for these young men. It still amazes us that they do this every year, even 66 years after the crash. Mary and I are truly grateful for their friendship and their sensitivity in providing us with information involving details of the accident. They are continually providing us with new information as it is uncovered.



With last year being the 65th anniversary, there was a large ceremony at the crash site with over 80 people in attendance. Mary had written a letter last year to be read during the ceremony, thanking all those who have been involved over the years in honoring Jim and the other men. Our friend Stefan read it to those gathered there and provided us with a DVD of the ceremony. We watched it again this year after our own little ceremony with our friend, Jill Haubrick, at the courthouse.



Though I have never met Jim Johnston, I feel in some ways that I do know him. I know him through Mary’s gentle words about a kind and caring boy she met when she was 15 and loved with her whole heart. I’ve learned about their hopes and dreams of someday reuniting and raising their baby daughter together, of traveling together or even just sitting on Viscose hill again and watching the trains go by. They knew what was important in life and valued it. I am blessed to know Jim through Mary’s memories. Jim died on that mission on his 23rd birthday. I guess we don’t focus so much on his death, but celebrate that he lived his life in a way that we all should. I don’t like to think about the day I will have to come to the courthouse without Mary, but I will carry the torch that Mary passes to me someday. I will honor and remember Jim and the crew and someday I hope to pass that torch on to others who will keep Jim and those memories alive. I also know that our friends in Sweden will also do the same to honor the lives of 6 young men who died much too soon, whose lives had meaning and will continue to have meaning for generations to come.



If you would like to check out the website created by our friends in Sweden to honor these 6 young men, please visit:



http://www.flygmonumentet.langared.se/crew.htm