Korby's Connections: Scanlon's general takes time out on golf course

Scanlon is proud of its youngsters who grew up to become teachers, ministers, medical experts, lawyers, firefighters, machinists, papermakers, politicians, scientists, bartenders, bankers, musicians, and many others who got their early start at the elementary school on Dewey Avenue.

To my knowledge, only one Scanlon grade school graduate has ever become a military general. Rich Johnston, who grew up on 23rd Street and Lincoln Avenue, retired as an Air Force general. Per military statistics, only three out of every 100 lieutenants make colonel, and out of every 100 colonels, only three make general.

Rich’s parents were Lyle and Armella Johnston. He lived only three blocks from Sather Park (the sports complex), a half-mile from Scanlon School, and two blocks from my home.

Just after Labor Day, I golfed with Rich at the Cloquet Country Club with his classmate Brent Smith and another fellow Scanlon friend, Steve Johnson. I was interested in his journey of becoming a pilot, some of his military exploits and, of course, special places where he has golfed.

Rich’s dad passed away in 2023 at age 97. Lyle was a World War ll decorated soldier, drafted at age 18 upon graduating from Proctor High School.

Lyle worked at the Potlatch/ Northwest Paper mill in Cloquet for many years and was instrumental in getting the hockey rinks built at Sather Park and seeing basketball hoops installed in the school gymnasium. He was a leader in Knights of Columbus projects aimed at developing Cloquet’s youth sports programs.

Rich was an honor roll grade school student and was always praised by his teachers as being kind, and a good student and citizen.

In high school, Rich played outfield for the Jerry Erickson-coached Lumberjacks baseball team. “Rich was not an everyday player for us, but a solid, reliable substitute,” Erickson recently said. “He was a leader, but I honestly never would have guessed him becoming a general.” Johnston also gave a shot at hockey, track and football at Cloquet, but baseball was his favorite.

After graduating from CHS in 1974, Rich took a year off from school, then attended both the University of Minnesota Duluth and College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. The next year, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, where he studied for four years and graduated with a degree in criminal justice. He considered potential career roles in that field and even law school, and worked a summer job at a federal penitentiary in Wisconsin. But something else was calling him.

He always was intrigued by the idea of being a pilot. To that point, he had only one experience even riding in a plane: when 14-year-old Rich went to visit his uncle in Houston and attended an Astros baseball game. To pursue and perhaps realize his dream, he also visited an Air Force recruiting station.

After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, Johnston was accepted to the pilot training program. He had some time off and decided to see if he could prepare for school by getting a pilot’s certificate. He asked Cloquet airport trainer Arne Odegaard to teach him.

“I didn’t know the difference between a rudder, flaps and spoilers — really, starting from scratch. Arne was incredibly patient with me and had confidence in my abilities,” Johnston said. “After 10 lessons, a $400 fee, and lots of studying, I flew solo over the Carlton County airport. It’s not rocket science, but a pilot does need to be able to multitask — read gauges, talk on the radio, and adjust the plane to the weather conditions. It was a windy, difficult flying day. I was indebted to the knowledge Arne shared, a true mentor.”

Being successful in his Air Force pilot training in Arkansas and advanced training in Oklahoma, Rich was assigned as a second lieutenant to a C-130 Hercules group in Guam. It became his plane of choice. He moved with his Cloquet sweetheart and bride, Terry, and their daughter, Jennifer, to the Pacific Ocean location.

Over the years he encountered many challenges, including flying into the heart of a typhoon in the Philippines to take meteorological readings, and piloting Army Special Forces onto an unimproved landing strip in Bolivia. He also had assignments flying in the Middle East supporting Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Johnston had Air Force assignments in Illinois, Kansas, Texas and New Jersey, and for three years worked in Washington, D.C. at the Pentagon. He was a military student at the National War College, graduating with a master’s degree in national security strategy.

Johnston was next stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany for several years. He was promoted to brigadier general, commanding the 86th Airlift Wing. His last few years with the Air Force were with strategic military planning and preparation, again at the Pentagon.

He spent 33 years in the Air Force. After a short retirement, he went to work at Lockheed Martin in Alabama, in charge of foreign sales of the C-130, the plane he had piloted.

“I couldn’t have dreamed of having such a successful military career without the support of Terry, my daughter, Jennifer, and the entire extended family and friends,” Johnston said. “It requires a lot of moving. Personally, I visited or was assigned to 83 different countries globally. I wanted to see the world — well, I sure did.”

Today he is officially retired and living in the Atlanta area.

Now for the golf update: I noticed Rich had a flowing yet powerful swing. He didn’t pick up a golf club until he was 27, so he never played in the 1970 Scanlon Open at Crawley Country Club. But once he was hooked on golf, he studied a lot of books and magazines, and wasn’t afraid to ask questions. Military assignments usually require 12-plus-hour days, seven days a week, with deployments lasting a year or more. Depending on the assignment, there can be opportunities to play.

Rich golfed in Guam, where players can still see craters left by World War II bombs. He had a partner who played collegiately at Oklahoma, and taught him a lot. Stationed in the Pacific, he played in the Philippines, Bangkok, Thailand, and amongst kangaroos at the Royal Canberra Golf Club in Australia. He also had rounds in Okinawa, Japan, where the caddies warned him not to look for balls in the long grass for fear of habu, a very poisonous snake.

Rich said he thought baseball helped him develop some swing motion and timing, and for the last couple of years he has been getting lessons from professional Denise Killeen, who still plays in senior tour events. “She helped with a solid shoulder turn,” he said.

Thanks for the stories, Rich.

Steve Korby’s interest in writing goes back to when he was in fourth grade and editor of the Scan-Satellite school newspaper in Scanlon. He welcomes ideas for stories. Send him an email at [email protected].