Johnson rose to the Flag rank and commanded the United States Seventh Fleet during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident on August 2, 1964.

Following the United States entry into the World War II, Johnson was promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant commander on January 1, 1942.

As air group commander ("CAG"), he directed and led attacks against Japanese forces at Palau, Woleai, Wake Island and Truk, striking against enemy aircraft, airfields, shipping and shore installations.

Later, he received the Bronze Star Medal and a second Legion of Merit, with Combat "V" for his service in action, which included campaigns against Japanese forces in the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

On November 15, 1951, during the Korean War, Johnson became the commanding officer of the escort carrier Badoeng Strait (CVE-116); affectionately known by her crew as the "Bing Ding".

He served as the commanding officer until July 1952, when he ordered to the National War College in Washington D.C. for a year's course in modern warfare techniques and strategies.

In June of that year, Admiral Johnson was named director of the Long Range Objectives Group, in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

In December 1958, he assumed command of Carrier Division Four, and a year later, on January 25, 1960, he was named Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Plans and Policy.

On December 15, 1961, he was promoted to vice admiral and a month later became deputy director of Joint Strategic Target Planning, headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Nebraska.

Salisbury Sound set up a seadrome in Da Nang Bay and conducted seaplane patrols in support of Operation Flaming Dart, the bombing of North Vietnamese army camps.

[3][1][2] Following a brief leave with his family, Johnson was promoted to the rank of four-star Admiral on March 31, 1965, and ordered to Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, Hawaii, where he assumed duty as the Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet.