Howard Johnson (American football)

Howard Johnson

1st Lieutenant Howard W. Johnson, USMC
Date of birth	(1916-09-22)September 22, 1916
Place of birth	Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States
Date of death	February 19, 1945(1945-02-19) (aged 28)
Place of death	Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japanese Empire
Career information
Position(s)	Guard
US college	Georgia
Career history
As player
1940–1941	Green Bay Packers
Career stats
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	Marine Division 23rd Marines
Battles / wars	World War II Pacific War Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Battle of Kwajalein Mariana and Palau Islands campaign Battle of Saipan Battle of Tinian Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Battle of Iwo Jima  †
Awards	Silver Star (2) Purple Heart

Marines gather around the sign denoting the dedication of Smiley Johnson Field on Maui.

Howard White "Smiley" Johnson (September 22, 1916 – February 19, 1945) was a professional American football offensive lineman in the National Football League. He played the 1937, 1938 and 1939 college football seasons at the University of Georgia before joining the Green Bay Packers for the 1940 and 1941 seasons.

He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1942 and became an officer. In addition to seeing combat with the 4th Marine Division, he played for a service football team in Maui, Hawaii. He served with I Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines through the battles of Kwajalein, Saipan (earning a Silver Star), and Tinian. On February 19, 1945, 1st Lieutenant Johnson was killed in action by a mortar shell at the Battle of Iwo Jima and awarded a second Silver Star posthumously; he was one of three former NFL players to die on Iwo Jima along with Jack Chevigny and Jack Lummus. Johnson was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu on February 2, 1949.