He was one of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, serving as a Major in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
[1] After the war, Herman lived in Washington, DC as director of Howard University's teaching hospital, and district office manager of the Supreme Life Insurance Company in Ohio before coming to Kansas City in the late 1950s.
Dorothy Johnson was also recognized in her own right as a civic leader, with a career as journalist, public relations professional and director of the Jackson County (MO) Department of Health and Welfare.
[5] In August 2006 the Kansas City Council approved the naming of the 27th Street Bridge at Paseo Boulevard in memory of Herman Johnson.
His obituary in the Kansas City Call [7] eulogized Johnson as "a gentleman, extraordinary, a man for all seasons.... one of our distinguished sojourners and leaders."