Johnston, Olin DeWitt Talmadge
(18 November 1896–18 April 1965)
- Robert A. Waller
Extract
Johnston, Olin DeWitt Talmadge (18 November 1896–18 April 1965), politician, was born near Honea Path, South Carolina, the son of Ed Andrew Johnston, a tenant farmer and textile worker, and Leila Webb. Johnston attended local schools but gained another sort of education by working in a local textile mill. Before the outbreak of World War I he attended the Fruitland Institute in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and then the Textile Industrial Institute and Wofford College, both in Spartanburg, South Carolina. During World War I Johnston enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in France with the 117th Engineer Regiment of the Forty-second or Rainbow Division. He gained the rank of sergeant and received a citation for bravery....
