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"After high school, in the midst of World War II, Johnson joined the United States Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He flew 44 combat missions as a bombardier in Consolidated B-24 Liberator four-engine heavy bombers. While flying as a navigator in a B-24 with the 100th Bombardment Squadron, 42nd Bombardment Group, 13th Air Force, his plane and two other B-24s were shot down over the Philippines in March 1945 during a low level bombing and strafing run against Japanese targets. The planes were hit by intense flak and had to ditch in the waters off the port of Zamboanga. During the ditching, he broke both ankles and the radioman next to him was killed. Johnson earned a Purple Heart for this mission. He was also awarded the Air Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three service stars, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one service star, and the World War II Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged with the rank of first lieutenant on November 22, 1945. He then joined the Army Reserve and used the G.I. Bill to fund his acting studies at the Actors Lab in Hollywood.[1] At acting school, he met actress Kay Levey; they married on July 23, 1949."

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Born November 10, 1924, in Ashley, Pennsylvania Russell David "Russ" Johnson joined the Army Air Corps in World War II, and earned the Purple Heart when his B-25 Mitchell twin-engine medium bomber was shot down in the Philippines during a bombing run in March, 1945. He returned stateside and pursued a career in acting where he appeared in a number of westerns and such classic science fiction films as It Came From Other Space (1953) and This Island Earth (1955).