By Deborah Larsen
Johnnie Dixon
Johnnie Dixon was born in Durham, North Carolina, on August 10, 1921, the son of Kendrick and Lucinda Smith Dixon. The Dixon family settled in Washington Township, Macomb County, when Johnnie was a small child. Around 1940, the family moved to Rochester and lived on North Main Street. Johnnie worked in one of the local CCC camps.
In January 1943, Johnnie entered the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the 95th Engineer General Service Regiment (Colored), an African-American regiment in a then-segregated U.S. military. Johnnie’s regiment arrived in England in July 1943 and landed in Normandy on July 6, 1944, one month after the D-Day invasion had begun. As engineers, Johnnie and his comrades repaired and rebuilt railroad tracks and bridges that the retreating Germans damaged as the Allied forces pushed them back across Europe.
Johnnie spent a total of 11 months in the European Theater and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. His regiment returned to the U.S. in August 1945, and Johnnie was discharged from military service in November 1945.
After the war, Johnnie and his wife, Alberta, started a family, and Johnnie worked in the automobile industry.
Johnnie Dixon died at age 84 on July 14, 2006, and was laid to rest in Romeo Cemetery.