In Memory of Dr. James Bond Johnson
June 18, 1926 – March 25, 2006
Photo Courtesy of JBJ 2000.
In 1947, Johnson gained lasting attention for photographing debris from the alleged “UFO crash” in Roswell, New Mexico, while working for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He was dispatched to Fort Worth Army Air Station to capture images of the wreckage transported to General Ramey’s office. Johnson took six photographs on glass plates, five of which remain preserved at the University of Texas at Arlington. Though initially a minor episode in his life, this event later linked him to numerous UFO investigations.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Fort Worth Star-Telegram Building: Exterior Shot. (1944). Retrieved from library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/img/20032689
J. Bond Johnson (In the photo 17 years old). Original image part of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Identifier: AR406-6-1558. Attribution- NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Dr. J. Bond Johnson peacefully passed away in his sleep on Saturday, March 25, 2006, in Long Beach, California, following complications from cancer.
His ashes will be interred in a niche at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Born on June 18, 1926, in Fort Worth, Texas, Johnson was the only child of Rev. Floyd E. and Gladys Johnson, lifelong ministers to the Texas Methodist community. In 1942, at just 15 years old, he graduated from Taylor High School and returned to Fort Worth to pursue a journalism degree at Texas Wesleyan. With many men serving in World War II, and experience writing for both his high school paper and the Taylor Daily Press, he secured a job as a reporter-photographer at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
His journalism career at the Star-Telegram spanned over five years, including periods before and after his service in the Army Air Corps. During this time, he earned degrees from Texas Wesleyan and Texas Christian University and later pursued advanced studies in education, theology, and psychology at Southern Methodist, the University of Southern California, and Claremont University.
In 1952, Johnson re-entered the military through Marine Corps Officer Training School in Quantico, Virginia, later serving as a public information officer at El Toro Marine Base in Orange County, California. He earned his aviator wings there and became a life member of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association. Following the Korean War, he was honorably discharged with the rank of captain and continued in the Marine Reserves until 1962, when he transitioned to the U.S. Army Reserve, retiring in 1995 as a full colonel after 33 years of service.
During his military career, Johnson was a consultant to the National Security Council and served on the Eisenhower Commission, which revised the prisoner-of-war Code of Conduct. He also worked on “Operation Homecoming,” a Department of Defense program aiding returning POWs from Vietnam. Additionally, he was part of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College’s consulting faculty at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Johnson’s expertise extended to mental health. He was a post-doctoral fellow with the National Institute of Mental Health, receiving three years of clinical psychiatry training at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. He also trained at several institutions, including the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Fort Worth and the Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Long Beach.
In 1960, Johnson became a board-certified clinical psychologist in California, maintaining a private practice in Long Beach for nearly four decades. His specialties included family therapy, sports psychology, and industrial psychology. In 1970, he founded the Long Beach Youth Home, a residential treatment center for emotionally troubled youth, followed by Cedar House in 1974, a pioneering program in child and spousal abuse treatment.
A veteran of three wars, Johnson conducted extensive research on post-traumatic stress disorder, interviewing returning POWs, escapees, and evacuees. His service included roles as an Army Air Corps pilot cadet in World War II, a Marine Corps captain during the Korean War, and a psychological operations specialist during the Vietnam War.
In addition to his military and psychological careers, Johnson was ordained as a Methodist minister by the Central Texas Methodist Conference. Over the years, he led congregations in Everman, Cross Plains, and Italy, Texas. He retired from active ministry in 1996, after serving as senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in San Pedro, California.