Jesse Lee Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Johnson, was born circa 1925. The Johnson family had lived in Torrance for 14 years, where his father worked as a guard at the Columbia Steel plant. Jesse attended Torrance High School, where he played both baseball and football—a sport he had enjoyed since his years at Jefferson Middle School.

Johnson left high school to enlist in the United States Navy in Los Angeles on February 11, 1943. He trained at the U.S. Naval Training Station in San Diego and was assigned to the Naval Reserves for General Service and Specialists. He held the rank of Seaman Second Class (S2c) and began service aboard the USS Ormsby on July 28, 1943.

On April 4, 1944, at the age of 19, S2c Johnson drowned in the line of duty at Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. His body was not recovered. Shortly after news of his death reached Torrance, his high school classmates received a letter from him thanking them for remembering him and noting that he had recently met his brother Clair on the battlefront.

Johnson is honored at the Honolulu Memorial, on the Courts of the Missing, in Hawaii. He was survived by his parents and four brothers, including Clair Johnson, who served in the Army, and William Johnson, who was living in Torrance at the time.

Research by Noah Kim.