SFC Dillard Johnson; the deadliest soldier
A couple of you have sent links to the New York Post article Sgt. 1st Class Dillard Johnson is the deadliest US soldier on record – with 2,746 kills, so I guess that if I don’t write something, my inbox is going to fill up about him. There was an SFC Dillard J. Johnson in C 3/7 Cav by a similar name. According to the DoD website, he did indeed (or someone with that name) earn a Silver Star. The name at the DoD’s website is “SSG Dillard (No Middle Name) Johnson”, though. I’ve already written the author of the article, Mr. Buiso, how he confirmed the number of “kills” SFC Johnson has;
With 2,746 confirmed kills, Sgt. 1st Class Dillard Johnson is the deadliest American soldier on record — and maybe the most humble.
As a commander of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle nicknamed “Carnivore,” Johnson, 48, helped lead the ground assault during Operation Iraqi Freedom, overwhelming the enemy with a relentless show of military might that left a trail of dead in his wake.
Johnson was obliged to report confirmed kills to his superiors, cataloging the dead in a green journal that revealed the astonishing tally — which only began to come light as he and co-writer James Tarr were researching his exploits for his memoir, also titled “Carnivore.”
I’m not trashing anyone, or calling anyone a liar in the absence of evidence to the contrary, but I’d sure like to see this “green journal”. I’ve never heard of a tally of “kills” cataloged in the name of individual soldiers and I can’t imagine that anyone would participate in such a grisly practice.
He counted the dead by tallying rifles — and human heads — among the mangled or charred wreckage left behind by the Carnivore.
In his second tour, in 2005, he took up sniping, logging 121 kills, his longest from 821 yards, a skill that was honed hunting in Kentucky. His total is second only to the late Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL who had 160 kills.
It might be true, who am I to question it – I wasn’t there, but members of a sister unit are questioning it in my emails, so…I have to think there’s something weak in the story. But, let’s sit and wait this one out and see what we can shake loose in the public forum.
Category: Who knows
personally i have no idea about snipers… we had a guy that was a former marine that went to sniper school.. he graduated and came back… during OIF1 he was part of our reg line unit but he did have a drag bag he kept in a brad but i never once saw him use the rifle inside
@91 – there is PROBABLY a huge difference between “His Driver” and Paul K. Wickre (Google spawn!) Mr. Sperry appears to be the real deal. Paul K. Wickre is a never-was, and always will be. I sense some hero worship in Mr. Sperry’s defenses. I’m not qualified to discern what part of SFC Johnson’s story is legit or not, but it sounds like a lot of it was true – the body count might not be, the sniper stuff sounds iffy (I know enough about the military and the government in general to know it’s big on you staying in your lane – if you’re a vehicle commander, you’re usually not also a sniper, a mortician, or a Super Secret Squirrel – they like you to stick to one main job) but sounds like he did the majority of what he says he did. On the other hand, Phillip Dale Monkress did none of what he said he did, other than serve honorably in the uniform (which was indeed honorable, but far from his SEAL stories.)
Bottom line, Valkyrie, cut the guy a break, even if he’s being belligerent.
@98: yah thats what tripped my radar too. Who leaves a suicide note for their family bashing Bush/Cheney and the DEA?
“Hey I love you all and Bush lied troops died, we are the 99%, blah blah blah”
Not legit?! I’ll have you know, since I am his Silver Star, his leadership and bad-assery made me want to be so badass, I also earned a Silver Star. And a CIB. He was just wearing the CIB for me at ANCOC, since a CIB doesn’t fit on an actual, real, badass, confirmed killing (over 82.7 kills as of *classified* in *classified*) Silver Star. Haters gonna hate.
The man earned a Silver Star for Heroism in Iraq….
I have my own reservations about the body count, that is just an insane number. However, unless someone here has something absolutely positive to identify this guy as a Poser I would highly reccomend you back off.
The man served, he served with honor, and Heroism… I say back the hell off this man unlesss you have something absolutely verifiable, not just “well it sounds funny to me…”
Is that “green book” a Memorandum for Record book? There are prolly not 3000 lines in that book we all used to keep in our BDU pockets for CYA…Just sayin’…
@105 Doesn’t mean he’s not trying to drum up publicity for his book simply because at one moment in his life he did something valorous.
Hack & 325: well said in #102 and #105!
He came up with his count by counting rifles on the OBJ. I think he blew up a few arms caches and let that pad his numbers.
Whenever someone claims the exploits that are akin to Genghis Khan, I call the story bullshit. “Green tally book”? Really?
And this guy is full of it.
I still want to see this Gerber knife he supposedly hacked through the power lines with, man.
Right then and there I can call BS. Hell, I call it already based on the construction of said knife.
@ NHSparky here is the link I found about the Gerber knife incident as published http://warriortimes.com/2010/11/17/gerber-lmf-ii-knife-testimonial/
also here is the link on dvids about the 852 yard shot
http://www.dvidshub.net/news/4186/four-terrorists-killed-separate-incidents
and here
http://www.warfoto.com/OIFphotos.htm
I do not know SFC Johnson or anyone in 3/7 at all so I cannot comment to the accuracy of any statements made, or to this new book. I was in Iraq from 2004-2005, but not in this AO, so I cannot comment to the authenticity of any of it.
@111, in one of the links above provide by Jonn in comment #25 there is a link to the Gerber Site where they have a photo of his knife and the letter he submitted to them.
Sparky, if you google Sfc Johnson and knife, you get lots of links about his knife story. Someone has already posted that they worked as a contractor with him and that he was sending in story after story to Soldier of Fortune, it would stand to reason that he was sending stories to other web sites/companys/magazines. I guess the knife story is what got him noticed and he rode it like a cheap whore to a book deal.
His Driver Says, I admire you loyalty in entering the lions den here and defend your man’s reputation.
Again I am still withholding final judgment on the body count question until I see what he, as opposed to his ghost writer or publisher, actually said in context.
But I have been mulling over the issue in light of certain psychology studies I am aware of. Those studies show that people who are highly optimistic or highly confident in their abilities tend to recall numbers favorable to them in an inflated manner. (while those with a tendency toward pessimism and depression tended to be more accurate with their numbers) I once knew a decent litigator – a guy who’s confidence allowed him to really connect with a jury, but who, like a fisherman, tended to increase the size of verdicts and settlements he had won in conversation. after observing the guy for years I was fairly convinced he was increasing the numbers unconsciously. Don’t know if that is in play with this guy, but it is interesting.
If anyone wants a good read on how our minds can lead us astray I recommend ” the Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making”
@113–I saw the knife. Uh, yeah–no. Not fucking possible.
Golly, at ROTC Advance Camp some dudes made a little notch on their helmet band and called it a “kill” each time the whacked-off there… by that standard, I’m sure he’s got at least 2,746.
@116, I have a screwdriver at home that had an unfortuante 110 Volt Accident. It has a chunk of the metal missing from where it made the connection. I am not allowed to do my own electrical work. That said, to me it sounds like a war storie. If the wires arced while he was holding the knife he would have been hit as I was when I made an inadvertant connection between a series of Jeep batteries and the arc went right to my wrist that was holding the channel locks…
like I said, I am not allowed to do my own electrical.
#99 @11M
I was a scout, 11D40 (armored intelligence specialist), 1966-1968 and earned/awarded the CIB, while with the 11th ACR.
Maybe qualifications have changed over the years….?
rb–I do do “my own electrical”, AC or DC, from 48 all the way up to 345KV.
I’m telling ya–even with a “typical” household 220 (Europe) voltage, that knife would have had a good-sized chunk taken out of it. I’ve replaced bus bars on a 480-volt motor control center where “all that happened” was a guy tried to rack off a breaker under load. Those bus bars had 3″ semi-circles of copper blown off of them, to say nothing of what the inside of that cubicle looked like.
Even your “basic” 15-amp home circuit breaker is capable of an instantaneous trip rating of several hundred amps, and even with electrical safety gloves on, there’s no way in hell I’d just whack at a live cord, knowing the arc flash that would result.
@119
Scouts are now 19D
Only 11 and 18 series may earn the CIB
@ 119 I believe you are correct that during the Vietnam era there were different criteria for the CIB, something about being assigned to an infantry unit. I knew a Vietnam era USAF guy through his army LTC aviator brother and the USAF guy was one of the I believe two USAF guys that had legitimate CIBs. But it changed because of the 19Ds I knew that served in Desert Storm, including the battle of 73 easting were ineligible.
Upon reflection, I can’t positively state if he was USAF when he was awarded the CIB. It is possible that he was prior service army. He was still active duty USAF when I knew him in the late ’80s and I did see a service connected write up at that time that said he was one of the few USAF guys who could legitimately wear a CIB.
I was looking at the HQDA link on the CIB and it doesn’t explicitly rule out CIB for Vietnam service with an infantry or SF unit if you held some other MOS. I’ve run into stories of commo and supply guys in Vietnam infantry companies getting a CIB and I seem to recall some Vietnam Scout memoir that referred to the MOS as an 11D at that time. Does anyone know with a higher degree of certainty?
The link for the CIB is
https://www.hrc.army.mil/TAGD/Awards%20and%20Decorations%20Branch%20-%20Combat%20Infantry%20Badge%20CIB
@105.
This.
@106-Defend, I have it on good authority that he kept count by notching the stock of his weapon for each kill. Unfortunately, there is no surviving record due to the fact that-with so many notches-the stock fell apart and had to be surveyed!!
JD11b: USARV made a number of exceptions to DA policy during the Vietnam war regarding the CIB. Per references I’ve seen from the AMBCMR, comm guys accompanying infantry units in combat was one of those exceptions to DA policy. (I can’t give you a full list of exceptions because I’ve never been able to find a downloadable complete copy of USARV Reg 672-1.)
I’m guessing those exceptions were fairly widely abused, though – and that blanket “unit orders” were fairly common. I’ve seen one FOIA reply from NPRC for a guy who served a tour or two in Vietnam as a cook – and who had no Infantry MOS-service in combat whatsoever. He got a CIB anyway.
LIRight: Same source (AMBCMR) indicates that USARV Reg 672-1, Appendix V, listed 11D as one of the MOS authorized to be awarded the CIB in Vietnam. See
http://boards.law.af.mil/ARMY/BCMR/CY2011/20110001408.txt
@120 I retired from the phone industry as a central office installer, which included power work. 750 and 1000 MCM cables, 48V, HIGH amperage. I have seen a wrench dropped on a hot bus bar or wet cell, battery terminal and nothing was left but a chunk of unrecognizable metal. I might believe a lot but cutting 220 AC, under load, with a knife that looks that good afterwards, I would have to lay bullshit on. Besides the arc flash would lose your night vision, if you are looking at what you are doing, and could be seen a long way off. Just does not add up in my electrical experience.
Tango Hondo;
I was just reflecting on the flip side of CIB criteria. An 11b I knew deployed to OIF as an E-7 in a two-man army air-ground liaison at BIAP and got shot at and returned fire a couple of times assisting in security patrols on the perimeter. ( I saw his picture on AKO log in one day doing the patrol) But since his duty position was combat arms immaterial no CIB.
JD11b. this a pic from Wikipedia , yes, Wikipedia of the knife in question with the notches in the blade from the two lines he supposedly cut at the same time. Supposedly this model Gerber knife has a “insulated” handle
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/SFC_Johnson_ASEK.jpg
on reflection, I have no idea why I directed post 130 at JD. maybe because his was right above. any hoo, there is the knife.
As i remember it…the cib is awarded to an infantry soldier who is in a inf co…bn …bge….and engages the enemy in combat….i honestly have no idea about the cib requirements pre my time 97-05…. But ive also seen guys i knew were 11 series and because they were attached to a support unit as a small security force they got screwed out of getting their cib.
@132, indeed 11M, right before we deployed in 03 for the build up, a guy in my company got sent to Div HQ. Even though he did get to fire off a few in anger, because he was with DIV HQ he didn’t get a CIB.
@Joshua Ruschenberg. Check your memory. This SFC Johnson was never in Apache Troop. I know first hand. I deployed with this guy to Bosnia in 2001, then Iraq in ’03 and ’05. Basically, I’ve known him as an E5-E-7. This whole thing is apalling. 3-7 Cav did a lot of great things throughout the invasion. My platoon was mixed with Johnson’s due to hunter/killer teams. This situation will do nothing but tarnish the actions of the Troop and Squadron because of one selfish Soldier. Sperry, relax. You did what you were told. You got your award. You are showing hero worship, and that doesn’t help your case. I will say the ANCOC stuff is true. Pretty sure the cancer is true, as he came back from Iraq with a damn large lump on his neck and he left for a while. Can’t remember how long. I respect the man the way you respect anyone you went through hell with. I do not respect lies, especially at the expense of ruining the accomplishments of many fine Soldiers because one has to be proven a fraud. I have only read excerpts at this point, and WTF. I was not just there. I was meters away most the time. I can submit that what I have read so far is BASED on fact. Extremely exaggerated. I know him as a man who will take credit for everything. Even so, taking credit for the unit, over 2k kills. NO. Killing a man with his buck knife in Najaf. Seriously, I was within visual range so when did this happen? 130 sniping killsin ’05? His own crew told me all the sniped was bullet proof windshield. What pisses me off, beyond pride in what we really did and nobody brags about, is that he wrote this knowing how many witnesses can call bullshit. Maybe he has a complex. He thinks we all love him too much to tell the truth. I know to this day, I still get mad he blew up an ammo trailer so it could cook off as the rest of the… Read more »
Having commanded at a couple of levels in combat I can say one thing. If a senior NCO came to me and produced a detailed kill tally, I imagine he would achieve lightspeed on his way to mental hygeine!
So what is the story here?
To those who served with this man, thank you for your service and also for coming in here and giving some background to this.
With accomplishments as incredible as the ones you accomplished there is no need to add to it….
@134, well said. Welcome Home.
I’m still hammering out the details but I think my old platoon sergeant may have been this guy’s First Sergeant in C 3/7. I’ll post a followup if he gets back to me.
@134 – “I know him as a man who will take credit for everything.”
That’s on-time, on-target, everytime with CJ.
J didn’t deploy with us in OIF lV he retired after we returned from OIF lll.
I meant to say OIF V
@ his driver:
Really? Sounds like you are Dillard Johnson himself. You are either a fucking retard or Johnson himself. You are in the minority here, notice the theme?
I served with this guy in OIF3 and I call BS. He loves to tell stories.
I bet he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express before he deployed!
@144-Are you sure he didn’t deploy TO a Holiday Inn Express?
James
For a short period of time he was the psg for 3rd plt Apache 3/7 Cav. We even went to JRTC where he made my life shit. He was even air lifted out in the rotation when he had chest pains when he got all stressed out. I watched him lay down face first in the ground. He returned to the ply at the end of the rotation. He had his CIB incident or whatever and left to C troop.
James
I posted a reply once and it didn’t take. A shorter version follows. Check your memory. In 2002 he came over to 3rd plt A 3/7. As a psg he was a real asshole. He lived in a Winnebago in the squadron parking lot. That’s why we called him Dirty j. He went with us to JRTC. He was airlifted out on medieval bc he had chest pains when he got all stressed out. He returned to the plt at the end of the rotation. He went off to ANCOC and had his CIB incident and went back to C troop where they worshipped his bs stories and acted like he was a god. He liked them simple and fit right in over there.
He’ll now they are both up there.
JR, he lived in a Winne in the parking lot? lol WFT! had a 1SG that did that Mon thru Fri, then went home for the weekend. Everyone said he (the 1SG) was a alchy and hated his wife, so he spent the week at the unit and would get sauced at night in his RV. Was he married with kids back then? I can’t see a family man doing that unless something is really wrong with him or the marriage. Oh wait, false CIB, busted and moved troops, yea, I guess I can see him doing it.
From the plethora of stories out there on the net I find from googling him and the guy that posted about him spending all his free time sending stories in to SOF, I think I know how he got this book deal. Just constant self promotion until someone finally offered him a book deal.
JR…I deployed with him to Bosnia in 2001 as SGT Johnson. He was 1st PLT C Troop. I deployed with him in 2003 to Iraq as SSG Johnson, 1st PLT C Troop. Then I deployed with him has SFC Johnson, PSG of 3rd PLT C Troop. I know CJ very well.
@138..the 1SG for the invasion was 1SG Roy Griggs. The 1SG for OIF III was now CSM Anthony Broadhead. Hope that helps.
Everyone questioning “HisDriver,” it really is his driver from the invasion. By the way I caught part of the excerpt about Bosnia. Also full of shit. That deployment was a vacation.