The New York Times
by Nick Lipovsek
General Mark Johnson's Life in Vietnam
General Mark Johnson was a four star military officer, meaning he had a very important job in the army. General Johnson was the second highest rank in the army behind the head General of the Army. He was one of only a handful of generals in the army. The number of generals are limited by the government. Generals are nominated for appointment by the president of any officers who are eligible to actually be a general, based on their rank. Sadly, General Mark Johnson died December 7, 1961 at age 46 when a fire broke out in his army base, Chu Lai, in Vietnam. The enemy, the Viet Cong, planted a bomb in the base which started a gargantuan, raging fire. The explosion made the soldiers’ ears start to ring. Smoke fills the air. General Johnson could smell the smoke of the fire behind him ripping up whatever came in its path. He sprinted towards the door where the fire caught up with him. It quickly consumed him and his body was later buried at Arlington Cemetary.