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Richard Howard Johnston Jr., a retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and classification officer for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Nevada Operations Office (NV) in Las Vegas from 1962 to his retirement in 1980, died Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. Memorial service: 3 p.m. Friday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Interment: Private in Greenwood Memorial Park.
Johnston was born in New York on Aug. 6, 1918. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in June 1942, and was assigned to the Pacific theater where he participated in the Solomons and Aleutians campaigns, as well as the invasion of Tarawa in the Central Pacific during World War II. In 1944, after completing submarine school at New London, Conn., he made two war patrols aboard the submarine USS Kraken.
Following World War II Johnston entered mine warfare school at Yorktown, Va., and served as commanding officer of the mine sweepers USS Gladiator, USS Incessant and USS Competent. He then served as executive officer of the destroyer USS Allen M. Sumner. During the Korean War he served as executive officer of the USS Bentrami, and at the conclusion of that war sent to Norfolk, Va., where he headed the CIC/ASW Division of the Fleet Training Group. He then served as navigator of the heavy cruiser USS St. Paul. Following the Korean War he was commander of Mine Division 71 operating off the Korean coast.
In 1949 and 1950 Johnston served as assistant professor of naval science for the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) unit at the University of Rochester, N.Y. From 1957 to 1959 he was assigned to Joint Task Force Seven as Assistant Surface Operations Officer, and later as operations officer of Task Group 7.3 during the fuel phase of the nuclear weapons tests conducted in 1958 at the Eniwetok Proving Grounds in the Pacific. His last military assignment was chief of the Classification and Review Branch, Defense Atomic Support Agency, Washington, D.C.
Johnston rose to the rank of lieutenant commander before retiring from the U.S. Navy in June 1962 with 20 years' service. During his military career, Johnston was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, China Service Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, American Theater and the American Defense Medal.
Following his retirement from the U.S. Navy he accepted a position as classification officer at the Nevada Operations Office of the Department of Energy where he served until his retirement in February 1980. Upon retiring he received high commendation from the Director of the Office of Classification, Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., the Albuquerque Operations office, Monsanto Research Corporation, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Sandia Laboratories at Albuquerque, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, University of California, and the Chief of the Operations Branch, Office of Classification, Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
During his years living in Las Vegas, Johnston served his community and church in many different capacities. He served as president of the Las Vegas Optimists, commander of the Military Order of the World Wars, Las Vegas Chapter, president of the World War II Submarine Veterans of Las Vegas. He served as president of the Lay Readers Guild of the Episcopal Church of Nevada, on the vestry of his church, All Saints Episcopal Church and as warden of a mission church, St. Luke's Episcopal.
Survivors: His wife, Priscilla; daughter, Sarah Lamb Johnston; son, Richard Howard Johnston III and wife, Terri; grandchildren, Tiffany and Brian; great-granddaughters, Kylynn and Kanyin; and Priscilla Johnston's family; Lindsay B. Holland and wife, Nicole, Barney B. Holland Jr. and wife, Anne, J. Walker Holland and wife, Margaret, and Ellen M. Holland; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Published in Star-Telegram on January 24, 2013
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