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The Howard J. Johnson Jr. Award

• Past Recipients of the Howard J. Johnson Jr.Award

The Howard H. Johnson, Jr. Award, given by the Uniformed Services Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is an annual citation and purse for the best research paper on a pediatric topic by a Uniformed Services house officer.

Recognizing that the competitive nature of the other Uniformed Services Section research awards limited participation by house officers, the Executive Committee of the Uniformed Services Section established this award.  Originally sponsored by Gerber Products, it was designed to foster house officer research and was first given in San Francisco in March 1983.  In 1989 the Uniformed Services Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics provided additional recognition and awards for individuals placing second and third in this competition.

The award is named in honor of Howard H. Johnson, Jr., whose devotion to house officer education as Chairman of Pediatrics at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center is legendary.

Howard H Johnson, Jr was born in Richmond, Virginia on 4 October 1925.  He graduated from George Washington University with a BA degree in 1948, and from George Washington Medical School with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1951.

Dr. Johnson completed a rotating internship at Baltimore City Hospital in 1952.  Following completion of a pediatric residency at Baltimore City Hospital, he joined the Air Force medical Corps and was assigned as Chief of Pediatrics at Nouasseur Air Force Base, Morocco from 1954 to 1956.  After serving as Chief of Pediatrics at FE Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming between 1956 and 1958, he moved to San Antonio, Texas to become Assistant Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center.

Beginning in 1958, he helped establish the first Air Force Pediatric Residency Program at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center.  After an interruption from 1965 to 1968 to serve as Chief of Pediatric at Wiesbaden Air Force Base, Germany, he returned to Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center as Chairman of Pediatrics.

Dr. Johnson has held many important positions during his 30 years as an Air Force pediatrician.  As Consultant to the Surgeon General in Pediatrics and Chairman of the Division of Maternal and Child Health at Wilford USAF Medical Center for many years, Doctor Johnson has been extremely influential in improving quality of child health among Air Force Dependents.  He was active in the military section of the AAP in its formative years, serving as a charter member, secretary-treasurer and member of the Executive Committee.  He served as the first Air Force host of the Uniformed Services Pediatric Seminar in 1971, and subsequently in 1978 and 1981.  A practicing pediatric cardiologist for more than 20 years, he is the Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, and at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

One of Dr Johnson’s most significant accomplishments was his active participation in the training of pediatric residents in the Air Force since 1958, when the first Air Force Pediatric Residency Program begun at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center.  Many of his former residents currently serve on the teaching faculty of military and civilian training programs or as senior Air Force physician administrators.  They remember Dr Johnson as a well-rounded and knowledgeable physician who was always willing and available to discuss distressing and difficult cases.  He set an example to follow, much like a father.  Indeed, one of the patients he cared for while a Lieutenant in the Air Force Medical Corps returned as one of his fellows when he was a Colonel and Chairman of Pediatrics at Wilford Hall.  His quiet leadership and example have provided stability that has markedly improved the quality of pediatric health care and teaching in the Air Force.

Dr Johnson retired from the Air Force in 1983 after 30 years of service.

In honor of this very special pediatrician, clinician, and scholar, the Howard Johnson Award is given to the Uniformed Services resident submitting the best house staff presentation on a pediatric topic.

COL Jerry D Reeves, USAF (Ret), MC
(revised November 1992)