GULF BREEZE — Gulf Islands National Seashore has scheduled the annual commemoration of Pvt. Rosamond Johnson. The event is set 10 a.m. May 6 at the Perdido Key Area.
The keynote speaker will be U.S. Navy Capt. Frank Smith, Retired. Dan Brown, Gulf Islands National Seashore superintendent; Alison Davenport, Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce; and Eugene Franklin, president/CEO of Florida Black Chamber of Commerce Inc., will join Smith.
The Naval Air Technical Training Center Color Guard and Vocalist group will perform. Additionally, the ceremony will feature music, artwork and essay contest winners from the Global Learning Academy in Pensacola.
The ceremony, presented by the Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce, Johnson Beach Society and Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, will conclude with words from the Johnson family and a wreath laying ceremony at the Johnson monument.
THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
After enlisting in the U.S. Army at age 15, Johnson died in combat two years later on the Korea Peninsula.
While engaged with the enemy, on July 26, 1950, Johnson carried two wounded soldiers to safety. He was fatally wounded while attempting to save a third wounded man.
On Aug. 21, 1950, Rosamond was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for the wounds he received while saving his fellow soldiers.
At the time of his death, Pensacola beaches were racially segregated. The Sunset Riding Club Inc. leased a county-owned recreational area in 1950 for the sole use of bathing and recreational facilities for “colored citizens.”
In honor of his ultimate sacrifice, the recreational area became known as Rosamond Johnson Beach. The area became a Gulf Islands National Seashore park in 1971, and the name was retained.
Today, a monument and wayside honor Private Johnson and his service to the United States of America.
Johnson Beach is located within the Perdido Key Area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. It is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. There is an entrance fee for this area.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Rosamond Johnson commemoration set May 6