Although Herbert Johnson now spends most of his time at home with his petite but feisty tabby cat named Wompas, he spent most of his 94 years running all over Alabama. His impressive collection of awards for running goes back decades, but Johnson says he no longer runs as much as he would like.
Running marathons, 10K and 5K events was a passion Johnson developed as an adult. He was born in Morgan County in Gandy’s Cove, a few miles east of Falkville.
“I was raised on the farm,” he said. “My brothers, they all had something to do, but I was always a home boy. I would stay home and do what needed to be done.”
Johnson claims he dug a 20-foot well when he was just 15.
Johnson turned 18 during World War II and voluntarily joined the Navy. He was on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day.
He said, “I was on a landing craft, an LCT. We brought four tanks across from England. Four of those big tanks with the big guns- we brought those across the channel.”
He added, “I stood on the spot where Adolf Hitler and his woman friend committed suicide in Berlin.”
Johnson made it home as the war came to an end, but it was not without sadness.
“My oldest brother was killed in World War II,” he said. “A German submarine sunk his ship and he went down with the ship.”
Johnson’s brother Jimmy was on the USS Eagle PE-56 that was destroyed by German submarine U-853. Jimmy Johnson’s ship went down off the coast of Maine.
“That’s where he is now, in the bottom of 38 feet of water off the coast of Maine,” Johnson said sadly, pointing to a photograph on his wall of him and his brother and sisters. “Jimmy was the second oldest. He would have been right there between them two.”
Five of the Johnson brothers served in World War II.
Johnson said, “My daddy would sit and listen to the account of war on the radio and my momma would be hoeing cotton out there. He’d try to get her to come listen and he said, ‘Don’t you know you got sons over there?’ She would say, “YES I DO! That’s the reason I’m getting this cotton hoed!’ She was something else.”
He added, “We all came home but him.”
The Navy had concluded that the ship’s demise was due to a boiler explosion until new evidence showed it had indeed been lost to the actions of the enemy. The change in the classification resulted in Jimmy Johnson and the others lost being awarded Purple Hearts in 2001. The USS Eagle PE-56 was finally located in June 2018 off the coast of Maine and the site is now a designated gravesite.
After the war, Johnson moved to Birmingham, where he met his wife, Dorothy. They made their lives there and raised their four children in Birmingham. They later moved to Cullman, where Dorothy Johnson passed away in 2009.
As an adult, Johnson discovered his love of running. He ran in every race he could find and had a group of running partners that would run the races together. Johnson’s trophy room is filled with pictures, medals and other wonderful memories from his running career.
He recalled, “We always said the Pledge of Allegiance before the races.”
Johnson said that he has no idea how many races he participated in during his career, but he was very active with the Birmingham Track Club. He is especially proud of the numerous awards he has received as the “oldest runner” in events including the Cotton Row Run in Huntsville.
“I ran from Falkville back to Cullman when I was 90 years old,” Johnson said proudly. “My brother took me down there. He went to buy gas in Falkville and he drove back and I ran.”
Johnson said he doesn’t recall how long it took him to run back or why he chose to do it, but he got tickled when telling about his accomplishments.
“It was two steep hills but I did it,” he smiled.
“I don’t run as much as I used to, but I still run. I just run whenever and wherever I want to. I like to stay fit.”
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