Three to be inducted into Veterans Hall of Fame

November 4, 2021

Three University of North Georgia (UNG) alumni will be inducted into the Georgia Military Veterans Hall of Fame on Nov. 6, including a father and son and another who served in World War II.

Retired Col. John Thompson, '87, goes into the Hall of Fame the same year as his father, Capt. Robert Thompson, '62, who was killed in action in Vietnam. Retired Maj. Gen. George Johnson, '38, who died earlier this year at age 103, also enters the Hall of Fame. UNG now has 18 of the 146 inductees since the Hall of Fame's inception in 2013.

"It's surreal not only to be inducted myself, but to go in with Dad means something special," John Thompson said. "My mom is especially thrilled."

Robert Thompson wrote a poignant letter for his 2-year-old son that John Thompson read for the first time as a teenager. His father's encouragement to live a life focused on serving others helped the young man find his path. John Thompson also pointed to retired Col. Gerald Lord, a former professor of military science and commandant of cadets at UNG and previous Hall of Fame inductee, as integral in his journey.

He is humble when he looks back on his 30-year military career.

"I was afforded the opportunity to serve alongside other heroes," Thompson said. 

John Thompson began his career with the 4th Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, in Feucht, Germany, and served and commanded in a variety of conventional and special operations aviation assignments. 

Thompson had more than five years of combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As pilot of a helicopter gunship with the 1st Cavalry Division in 1967, Robert Thompson was operating in the Song Re Valley, Vietnam, to attack enemy positions as American infantry soldiers were inserted into multiple landing zones. After most of the infantry had been inserted but had difficulty getting off the landing zones because of direct enemy fire, Thompson continued to make attack runs. During one of these attack runs, his aircraft sustained numerous strikes from anti-aircraft guns and automatic weapons. His helicopter burst into flames and crashed, killing Thompson and his entire crew.

Robert Thompson's missions saved numerous American lives, and for his prolonged courage under combat conditions, he earned numerous commendations. His awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, nine Air Medals, two Purple Hearts, National Defense Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Johnson served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and participated in seven major campaigns as a C-47 pilot, operations officer and commander of a troop carrier squadron. He dropped paratroopers and towed gliders.

Johnson assisted in the planning of the airborne assault on France at Sainte-Mère-Église and Carentan on June 5, 1944, and participated in resupply missions immediately following the D-Day invasion. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire during Operation Varsity in 1945, and despite fire and smoke in the cockpit, he maintained the formation and oriented the flight back to the home airfield.

Johnson also assisted in the evacuation of Buchenwald, Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps at the end of the war.