Howard Ravenscroft “Jumping Jimmy” Johnson was born on June 18, 1903 in Maryland. He first served in the US Navy and later transferred to the Army and the 101st Airborne division. In 1942, he became the commander of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. He participated in the D-Day invvasion in June 1944 and continued across Europe to the Netherlands and Operation Market Garden. His battalion of brave American paratroopers liberated the village of Eerde, The Netherlands. On October 8, 1944, during an inspection of 'D' company behind the dike west of Driel, Johnson was hit in his abdomen by a large piece of shrapnel. He lived two more hours, but then died of his injuries. Colonel Johnson was initially buried near Nijmegen, but was reburied at Arlington National Cemetery several years after the war. Source of information: www.oorlogsdodennijmegen.nl