Howard White "Smiley" Johnson

He was not the only pro footballer lost on that island. Johnson was one of three former NFL players killed at Iwo Jima, along with Jack Chevigny and Jack Lummus. His first Silver Star came at Saipan; the second was awarded after a mortar shell killed him on February 19, 1945. During the war he played for a service football team on Maui, and a field there now carries his name. He was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu on February 2, 1949.

What the plaque says

Howard White "Smiley" Johnson Born in 1916, Johnson grew up in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Orphanage in Clarksville. He played football at Clarksville High from 1933 to 1935 and earned All America honors at the University of Georgia. He played for the Green Bay Packers from 1940 to 1941. In 1942 he joined the USMC during World War II and fought at the battles of Kwajalein Atoll, Saipan, and Tinan. In 1945 he was killed at the Battle of Iwo Jima and buried in Hawaii. Lt. Johnson was awarded two Silver Stars for bravery and heroism. VFW Post 4895 is named in his honor.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Dunbar Cave State Park — 2.9 mi
  A Clarksville cave with 800-year-old Mississippian artwork, later a resort and Roy Acuff's dance stage, now a state park with seasonal guided tours.
• Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center — 3.6 mi
  An intact earthwork fort above the Cumberland and Red Rivers in Clarksville, begun with forced Black labor and later a contraband camp and recruiting center for Black soldiers.

More markers nearby

• Cave Johnson — 2.0 mi
• Robert Loftin Newman — 2.4 mi
• Austin Peay State University — 2.4 mi
• Burt High School — 2.5 mi