Tale honors soldier's bravery, perseverance, faith

This tale is about a Sandpoint man, Herbert Johnson. 

Herb passed away in 2001 at the age of 85. He was 5 years old when his family moved from Oregon to Idaho, in 1920. The family bought 80 acres near Oden. He graduated from Hope High School in 1933. 

Herb enlisted in the Army in 1939. When World War II broke out, he was stationed in the Philippine Islands. With the fall of Bataan in April 1942, Herb was taken prisoner by the Japanese Army. They put him on the march to a prisoner of war camp up north, which later was called the Bataan Death March as approximately 17,000 American and Philippine soldiers lost their lives during the march, which was 66 miles long.

If you stopped at all to rest, you were shot and killed, thus so many deaths. The march was continuous night and day, no rest stops. He was initially listed as "missing in action" for over a year before his parents received a telegram informing them that he was still alive and was a prisoner of war. 

Herb would spend 3 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Japan. He suffered immensely during his imprisonment and weighed just a little over 100 pounds when he was liberated. He then made a career in the Air Force.

After his service, Herb moved back to Sandpoint in 1960 and began a new career with the U.S. Forest Service. He built trails to Beehive Lake, Roman Nose and others, as well as fighting fires. He had his own airplane and flew it until he was 72 years old. In captivity, he became very religious and carried that through the rest of his life.

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and a business owner in Priest River.