Glover S. Johns Jr.

Johns went to VMI because his father thought VMI was the best school, even though he graduated from West Point. At VMI, Johns excelled at rifle and pistol marksmanship, ran cross-country, and graduated with a degree in chemistry. Upon graduation, he was barely 19 and too young for the ROTC commission he had trained for. Instead, Johns joined the Army Reserve.

During World War II, Johns earned three Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and a Purple Heart. His victory at St. Lo would allow Gen. George S. Patton, Class of 1907, to enter the war with his Third Army. Johns would continue to command his battalion until the war’s end in May 1945—totaling 11 months in command. 

Few commanders lasted as long. The intensity of his combat is described in Johns’ book, The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo, published in 1958. This book should be required reading for a description of small-unit combat. By the war’s end, Johns’ unit had lost nearly 2,400 men, more than two-and-a-half times his unit strength.