Johnson, U. Alexis (Ural Alexis), September 26, 1978

Ural Alexis Johnson (1908 - 1997) was born in Kanas and lived there and in California while growing up. He graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington D.C. Johnson studied Japanese in the United States to prepare for his position as a language officer in Japan. After Pearl Harbor, he was stuck in Japan and was not able to leave until toward the end of the war. When he was able to leave, he worked with the State Department in Brazil to work on training the military for the soon to come occupation of Japan. After the Occupation, Johnson was part of the efforts to end the Korean War. Later in his career, he became the Ambassador for the United States to countries including Czechoslovakia, Thailand, South Vietnam, and Japan. He was also an important part of the negotiations with the Soviet Union in Geneva. Johnson passed away in 1997 at the age of 88 in Raleigh, North Carolina.