On November 30, 2019, the town of Medway held its annual Medway Christmas Parade, honoring Harry T. “Buz” Johnson, Jr. as Parade Grand Marshall. Buz was one of 36 graduates of Medway High School Class of 1952, heading to UMass, Amherst from a rural life, working at farm, construction and truck driving jobs as a young man. He graduated college in 1956 with a degree in English, and having been in the ROTC program, he entered the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, and he retired some twenty years later as a Lieutenant Colonel. His military assignments included two years as a border trooper with the 2nd Armored Cavalry in Germany, and nearly ten years in South Vietnam during the war. He was an advisor to Vietnamese military and paramilitary units, and advisor to the President of South Vietnam after the 1968 Tet offensive, as well as to the Prime Minister, among other assignments. People have told him he served in South Vietnam longer than any other American military soldier.
He met Jeanne, the young lady who later became his wife, in Binh Dinh Province, where she was teaching English to Vietnamese high-school and college students.
After his time in South Vietnam, Buz was posted to the Pentagon for several years, where he served on a panel of judges. The Army loaned him to the Department of State at the request of Presidents Ford and Carter to serve on emergency Presidential Task Forces settling hundreds of thousands of refugees at the end of the war in Vietnam in 1975 and again during the Cuban refugee crisis in 1980.
Moving his family back to Medway in 1981, Buz served many years on the Board of Assessors and a term as Selectman. When his sons, Josh and Harry III, were young, he was Cub Scoutmaster, Soccer Coach, and volunteer for special events at all his sons’ schools here in Medway. He and Jeanne are active members of Christ Episcopal Church.
He was recognized and honored for his courage and accomplishments with numerous medals, awards, and letters of commendation during his military and civilian careers, but of all his achievements and honors, what Buz treasures most is his family, his precious children and grandchildren.
Here is a photo of Buz, along with some photos of the great floats in the 2019 Medway Christmas Parade.
Issue Date:
January, 2020
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