Fred Johnson

Fred Johnson has told the story of his journey through five wars on the stage during the Moth GrandSlam, with the Louisville StoryTellers, TEDx, on the Moth Radio Hour and in Reader’s Digest. Fred is a retired Army Colonel with 29 years of service. He deployed to Iraq twice and once each to Bosnia and Afghanistan. However, he found that his most difficult war was the one at home where he didn't recognize that combat changed him until it was almost too late. Since retiring from the Army in 2014. Fred has continued his service, now in Louisville, Kentucky, as a high school World History and English Literature teacher. Fred is the co-founder of Shakespeare with Veterans, a program dedicated to help veterans deal with the challenges transitioning from military service. Fred is from Centralia, Illinois. He graduated from Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC with Bachelor degrees in Government and Sociology and he also has two Masters Degrees. He is married to Dr. Laura Johnson and they have a daughter Madelyn. “Five Wars: A Soldier’s Journey to Peace,” is his first book. Fred has also published “Soft Skills in Hard Places: The Perryville Battlefield Leadership Experience.”