Phyllis Johnson Oral History

title:

Phyllis Johnson Oral History

creator:

Johnson, Phyllis Elizabeth (1936 June 23 - )

subject:

Navy

description:

Phyllis Johnson was born in Root, Arizona on a Navajo Reservation on January 23, 1936. She grew up in an area west of Flagstaff, Arizona. At the time, many of the people in the area worked three shifts building bombs for the military for World War II. Her senior year of high school in 1956, her cousin, a famous artist (R.C. Gorman) convinced her to make something of herself. She briefly considered the Army, but decided to join the Navy because she was interested in nursing. In September of 1956, she flew from Los Angeles, California to Washington, DC, then to Bainbridge, Maryland where she did her basic training. She was not selected for nursing because of her high school performance and instead went to personnel school, which prevented her from returning to the west coast to see her brother more often. After personnel school, she was sent to Norfolk, Virginia. She found Norfolk was hostile to her and minorities with some of them being placed in jail. She had a confrontation with another staff member that called her a “dirty Indian,” and this led to a hearing and the delay of her orders to Hawaii. She decided to leave the Navy in 1959. She spent some time traveling to Charleston, South Carolina; New York; and San Diego, California before heading home. She had four children, with one serving in the US Marines. Several of her grandchildren, nieces, and nephews were also in the military. One of her grandsons was in the Hospital Corps (as of the interview), which is what Johnson was hoping to join when she first enlisted. After a few decades, she returned to the Navajo Reservation she was born on, helping to provide food, shelter, and healthcare to other people on the reservation who are suffering as a result of federal policy towards reservations that prevented nearly any money from going to western reservations. When she left the service, Johnson reached the rank of Personnelmen seaman. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate M.

date:

2003-10-26

type:

Audio

format:

CD

identifier:

484; 2003.484

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

586910

coverage:

1950s | 1956-59

rights:

Unrestricted