) -Every year in May, the community in Escambia County pauses to honor the sacrifice of a local hero at the beach that bears his name.
Two years later during the Korean War, Private Johnson successfully carried two wounded soldiers to safety. He was going back for a third when he was killed on July 26, 1950, when he was 17 years old making him the first Escambia County resident to die during the Korean War. His niece Pamela Johnson-Glenn remembers meeting the family of one of the men he saved years ago.
During the time of Private Johnson’s service and sacrifice, Jim Crow laws were still limiting the rights of African Americans across the country. Including in Escambia County where black people weren’t allowed on Pensacola Beach and instead went to the eastern end of Perdido Key. Shortly after the war the same beach that Johnson spent time as a kid was officially renamed Rosamond Johnson Beach.
Despite his sacrifice, some say Private Johnson’s story isn’t as well-known as it should be. Which is why every year they hold this celebration to make sure his legacy lives on.
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