Ships
- USS Cony (DD-508) Captain from 30 October 1942
Lieutenant Commander H. D. Johnson took command of Cony on 30 October 1942, the day the new destroyer was commissioned. She was a Fletcher-class ship, built at Bath Iron Works in Maine and launched in August 1942. Johnson, a graduate of the Naval Academy class of 1926 from Maspeth, New York, was her first commanding officer. He remained in command until 13 May 1944 and later retired as a rear admiral.
Cony escorted a troop convoy from Norfolk to Noumea, New Caledonia, and arrived there on 27 January 1943. She then patrolled between Espiritu Santo and Efate. On 6 March 1943 she joined the bombardment of the Vila-Stanmore area in the Solomon Islands, and afterward went back to patrol and escort work. On 28 April she sailed for an overhaul at San Francisco.
She was back at Espiritu Santo on 1 August 1943. After screening transports bound for Guadalcanal, she gave gunfire support and served as flagship for the landings on Vella Lavella on 15 August. Patrols and supply runs to that island continued until 8 September. On 23 August, during a sweep north of Vella Lavella, she helped fight off an attack by torpedo planes. Reinforcement convoys on 26 and 31 August also came under air attack. Cony and the ships she escorted came through those actions intact. For his leadership in the Vella Lavella operations the Navy awarded him the Silver Star.
From 20 September 1943, Cony patrolled through the Solomons. From 1 to 3 October she joined a sweep against Japanese barges that were trying to evacuate troops from Kolombangara.
On 27 October 1943 she covered the landings on the Treasury Islands. The assault caught the defenders by surprise, and Japanese aircraft struck back the same day. About twenty-five bombers attacked Cony and another destroyer. American fighters joined the defense, and twelve of the bombers were shot down. Two bombs hit Cony on her main deck, and a near miss added to the damage. Eight of her men were killed and ten were wounded. She was towed into Port Purvis for emergency repairs and then went on to the Mare Island Navy Yard for a full overhaul. Johnson stayed in command through that period and was relieved on 13 May 1944.