Roy L. Johnson
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Admiral Roy L. Johnson (March 18, 1906-March 20, 1999) served as Commander and Chief, United States Pacific Fleet, , from 1965-1967. In his previous post as Commander, United States 7th Fleet, he gave the orders to the USS Maddox (DD-731) and USS Turner Joy (DD-951) to return fire, in what became known as the Tonkin Gulf incident. Admiral Johnson was the first captain of the USS Forrestal (CVA-59) first of the supercarrier class, commissioned in 1954. Born in Eunice, Louisiana to John Edward Johnson and the former Hetty Mae Long, Admiral Johnson was the eldest of 12 children. He graduated from the US Naval Academy on June 6, 1929 and married the former Margaret Louise Gross November 26, 1910 - July 4, 1998 on the same day. He was an early student at the naval flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola, often termed the "cradle of US Naval Aviation". During World War II, he served on the USS Hornet as squadron leader and later executive officer. During the Korean War, he commanded the USS Badoeng Strait.
Admiral Johnson retired in 1967 to Virginia Beach, Virginia where he was active in local civic affairs, as chairman of the board of Virginia Beach General Hospital and chairman of numerous Naval organizations, including the US Naval Academy Alumni Association and the Golden Eagles. He and Mrs. Johnson had two children. Their son, Roy L. Johnson, Jr., b. February 25, 1939 predeceased them in 1994. Their daughter, Jo-Anne L. Coe, (Jo-Anne Lee Johnson, b. July 19, 1933) served as the first woman Secretary of the United States Senate and as Chief of Staff to Senator Bob Dole.
