Johnson, George H. (George Herman), 1891-1917

The Crescent City was the first Gold Rush steamer, departing New York, Dec. 23, 1848, and arriving in Chagres, Panama, Jan. 2, 1849.

George H. Johnson (1891-1917) was a farmer from Saskatchewan, Canada. He served in the Canadian Army in the First World War.

George H. Johnson (1891-1917) was a farmer from Saskatchewan, Canada. He served in the Canadian Army in the First World War.

George Herman Johnson was born on June 27, 1891 to John A. Johnson and Mary Johnson in Willow Lake, South Dakota, and was raised in Halbrite, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was a farmer by trade and never married. At age 24, on August 17, 1915, he began service in the First World War in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force as an engineer in the 1st Tunneling Company. Tunneling was a variation of siege warfare used in trenches, and included tunneling under enemy lines, placing explosives, and blowing up enemy trenches. It emerged as a necessary offensive and defensive practice in World War I by the end of 1914. By March of 1916, Canadian tunneling companies, which included George H. Johnson, arrived on the Ypres front in Belgium. On October 27, 1917, George H. Johnson was killed by shell fire while working on a tunnel. He was buried in La Clytte Military Cemetery in Reninghelst, Belgium.