From a press report of Thursday, March 20, 2003:
Gustave Norman Johansen, 97, a retired Navy Rear Admiral, World War II veteran and former commander of the Naval Security Station in Washington who later helped his wife organize a musical competition for children, died March 11, 2003, at the Goodwin House West retirement home in Falls Church. He had bronchitis.
Admiral Johansen, who had a 34-year military career, was a Naval Academy graduate and a witness to two historic World War II events. He was assigned to the temporary flagship USS Jarvis at Pearl Harbor when Japanese fighter planes attacked December 7, 1941, killing nearly 2,400 servicemen.
At the end of the war, he was aboard an amphibious force flagship in Tokyo Bay as it passed the battleship USS Missouri, where formal surrender ceremonies were being staged.
Between those events, he commanded destroyers and participated in the recapture of the Solomon Islands.
His post-World War II assignments included command of a division of destroyers modified to sweep mines and service on the staff of the commander of the Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet.
He also served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, and then commanded the Naval Security Station in Washington before retiring from active military duty in 1959.
He next worked about six years for private aerospace firms and then 10 years for the Navy’s Electronic Systems Command.
In retirement, he volunteered to serve on the Arlington County Services Board as well as a county committee that monitored the operations of a nursing home.
He also helped fund and organize the Johansen International Competition for Young String Players. The international event, presented by the Friday Morning Music Club Foundation, awards cash prizes to musicians ages 13 to 17.
Admiral Johansen’s military decorations included the Bronze Star.
He was a member of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Naval Institute, Pearl Harbor Survivors and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
His wife of 69 years, Anna Storch Johansen, a former violinist with the Baltimore Symphony, died in 1998. Their son, Gus Johansen, died in 1989.
Survivors include two sisters.
JOHANSEN, GUSTAVE NORMAN, SR.
RADM, USN (Retired), 97
On March 11, 2003, at Goodwin House West. He was preceded in death by his wife, Anna S. Johansen and his son, Gustave N. Johansen, Jr. Survived by three sisters, and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services with Full Military Honors will be held on Tuesday, April 15 at 9 a.m. at Fort Myer Chapel, Arlington, Virginia. Interment Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, 4015 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203.
JOHANSEN, GUSTAVE N
RADM US NAVY
- VETERAN SERVICE DATES: 01/02/1913 – 02/01/1959
- DATE OF BIRTH: 05/19/1905
- DATE OF DEATH: 03/11/2003
- DATE OF INTERMENT: 04/15/2003
- BURIED AT: SECTION 1 SITE 112-E RH
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
JOHANSEN, ANNA S
- DATE OF BIRTH: 06/11/1908
- DATE OF DEATH: 03/30/1998
- DATE OF INTERMENT: 04/07/1998
- BURIED AT: SECTION 1 SITE 112-E RH
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY - WIFE OF JOHANSEN, GUSTAVE N RADM US NAVY
JOHANSEN, GUSTAVE N JR
- DATE OF BIRTH: 07/05/1939
- DATE OF DEATH: 02/11/1989
- DATE OF INTERMENT: 02/15/1989
- BURIED AT: SECTION 1 SITE 112-E RH
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY - ADULT DEPENDENT SON OF JOHANSEN, GUSTAVE N RADM US NAVY
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard