J. Bonavia, won Medal of Honor in WWII

Johnnie Bonavia 86 of Sonora died of cancer Friday at Tuolumne General Hospital.

Mr. Bonavia was born Sept. 22, 1916, in Sonora, where he lived his entire life. He had a career in the rodeo before serving as an Army sergeant in the cavalry during World War II. He entered the Army in 1941 and was wounded in 1942. He earned the Purple Heart and the Medal of Honor. Upon returning home from the war he also worked as an extra in "Doc Holliday," the original "Lassie" movie and many Gene Autry movies, usually playing the part of a cowboy. He also worked for Frank Kurzi and Cliff Mitchell in Kennedy Meadows, hauling dynamite and blasting trails. He worked for Bonavia's Yosemite Junction Restaurant. He was a rancher on Bonavia Ranch all of his life and he worked for several cattlemen in Tuolumne County and for George Jacobs in Lovelock, Nev. He was a member of the Republican Party and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and supported children's charities and the humane treatment of animals.

He is survived by his daughter, Devon Butler of Sweet Home, Ore.; brother, Casey Bonavia of
Sonora; sisters, Eva Savateer of Sonora and Ethel Burgess of Stockton; and two granddaughters.

A memorial service will be at noon Wednesday at Terzich & Wilson Funeral Home.

Remembrances may be made to the Humane Society, P.O. Box 830, Jamestown 95327 or The Salvation Army, 10 Pesces Way, Sonora 95370.

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Johnnie enlisted in the Army 11 Apr 1941

Johnnie served with the 7th Infantry Division's 7th Reconnaissance Troop. The 7th Recon was formed on a foundation contributed by twenty men from the 11th Cavalry at the Presidio of Monterey on August 1, 1940. These men received the same training as other "horse soldier" but who were exacting in their capacity.

The 7th Division was assigned to III Corps of the Fourth United States Army, and transferred to Longview, Washington, in August 1941 to participate in tactical maneuvers. Following this training, the division moved back to Fort Ord, California, where it was located when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor caused the United States to declare war. The formation proceeded almost immediately to San Jose, California, arriving 11 December 1941 to help protect the west coast and allay civilian fears of invasion.

The 7th Recon Troop (mechanized) was sent down Highway 1 on the alert for the Japanese Fleet that was rumored to be 10 miles off the coast. Proving false they returned to more routine duties.

For the early parts of the war, the division participated mainly in construction and training roles. Subordinate units also practiced boat loading at the Monterey Wharf and amphibious assault techniques at the Salinas River in California.

On 9 April 1942, the division was formally redesignated as the 7th Motorized Division and transferred to Camp San Luis Obispo on 24 April 1942. Three months later, divisional training commenced in the Mojave Desert in preparation for its planned deployment to the African theater. It was again designated the 7th Infantry Division on 1 January 1943, when the motorized equipment was removed from the unit and it became a light infantry division once more, as the Army eliminated the motorized division concept fearing it would be logistically difficult and that the troops were no longer needed in North Africa. The 7th Infantry Division began rigorous amphibious assault training under US Marines from the Fleet Marine Force, before being deployed to fight in the Pacific theater instead of Africa. USMC General Holland Smith oversaw the unit's training.

In 1942 a Japanese assault force had been dispatched to seize Dutch Harbor, the U. S. outpost in the Aleutians. They got cold feet, however, and decided to settle for Kiska and Attu at the western end of the chain of islands the US had obtained from Russia in 1867. It was clear that the Japanese hoped to use the islands as a springboard for an attack against Alaska. The job of getting these islands back was given to the 7th Division. The Hourglass soldiers found it hard to believe that they were headed for arctic terrain after their desert training. The first elements to land moved up on to Attu's "Red Beach" on 11 May 11 1943. They probed about for several hours and were able to consolidate beach positions before the Japanese learned they were there and started to bring defensive fire to bear. Then they had to fight a brutal campaign which was not concluded until the defeat of the Japanese at Chiehagof Harbor. The 7th Recon Troop went ashore first, moving in resolutely despite a pea-soup fog which reduced visibility to zero. The 7th was neither properly equipped nor clothed for a northern campaign, for in those days the US Army knew practically nothing about waging extensive winter warfare. Nevertheless, the 7th Infantry soldiers carried on, and for this action was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). At noon, on May 11th, the 7th Division's reconnaissance troop (less one platoon) landed at SCARLET and moved to join the scout company. Upon linkup, the two units, which constituted a provisional battalion, were to occupy the head of the valley where a pass gave access to one of the valleys leading back from Holtz Bay. Attempts by the 3d Battalion, on the left (southwest), to reach Jarmin Pass, the regimental objective at the head of the valley, failed, resulting in heavy losses. A platoon from the 7th Reconnaissance Troop made subsidiary landings at Alexai Point and joined the main body at Massacre Bay without opposition.

The Division embarked in Hawaii on a four-month training program, under a new commander, Major General C. H. Corlett, and worked hard to perfect the latest amphibious techniques. It took part in a week-long dry run against the island of Maui, then returned to Oahu for a brief respite at Schofield Barracks. On January 22nd the convoy left Pearl Harbor en route to Kwajalein, where it was going to seize the first Japanese-owned territory in the Pacific. The first Americans to set foot on Japanese-owned soil were members of the 7th Recon Troop led by Captain Paul Il. Gritta. Gritta first led his men in a pre-dawn assault against several of the smaller islands around Kwajalein. When they returned to the converted destroyer which was serving as their troop transport, they had killed 106 Japanese, and had taken three prisoners. Their losses were two killed, 22 wounded. Here, as at Attu, the 7th Recon was mentioned in the General Orders, and awarded another DUC. Kwajalein has been described as the "most nearly perfect" amphibious operation ever undertaken. The Division accomplished its missions in fine style, quickly subduing the entire atoll of 47 small islands. By the morning of February 7th practically all of the Division, except for units assigned temporarily as a garrison force, was on its way back to the Hawaiian Islands to rest up and train for another campaign.

Johnnie was discharged from the Army 27 Nov 1944