Col. M. Houston Johnson V, Ph.D. - Virginia Military Institute
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Col. M. Houston Johnson V, Ph.D.

Col. M. Houston Johnson V, Ph.D.

Department Head, Professor

Office: 330 Scott Shipp Hall

Phone: 540-464-7338

Email: johnsonmh@vmi.edu

Fields: 20th Century U.S. History, Aviation and Technology, New Deal Era

Honors and Awards

  • VMI Wilbur S. Hinman, Jr. ’26 Research Award, 2017 and 2019
  • VMI Jackson-Hope Prize for Excellence in Published Scholarly Work, 2020
  • Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Fellowship
  • University of Tennessee History Department Charles O. Jackson Fellowship

Professor M. Houston Johnson V has served as the head of the Department of History since 2020. He specializes in the history of the 20th century United States, with an emphasis on aviation history and the New Deal era. Johnson teaches the two semester U.S. History survey as well as advanced courses in 20th century American history. He came to VMI in 2012 after receiving degrees from Roanoke College and the University of Tennessee.

His book, Taking Flight: The Foundations of American Commercial Aviation, 1918-1938, explores the federal government’s role in promoting the development of commercial aviation between the world wars. He has published articles and book chapters on aviation infrastructure and the air war in the European theater of World War II and served as the Associate Editor of the Sage Encyclopedia of Military Science.

At VMI, his activities include serving as a program director for the Olmsted Foundation Study Abroad program and as a Title IX hearing officer. Johnson has also directed more than 10 undergraduate honors thesis and research projects.

Courses Taught

The Great Depression and the New Deal
History Capstone
History of the United States I and II
The Progressive Era
U.S. Constitutional History
The Vietnam War
War and Society in 20th Century United States History
World War II

Publications

Books

  • Taking Flight: The Foundations of American Commercial Aviation, 1918-1938. Texas A&M University Press, 2019.
  • Associate Editor, Encyclopedia of Military Science. Edited by G. Kurt Piehler and M. Houston Johnson V. SAGE Publications, 2013.

Articles

  • “Corps Commander: General Leonard T. Gerow’s Contributions to the Normandy Campaign,” Global War Studies (forthcoming, spring 2025).
  • “The Air War: Germany and Italy.” In The Oxford Handbook on World War II, edited by G. Kurt Piehler. Oxford University Press, 2023.
  • “Laying Foundations: New Deal Public Works and Aviation Infrastructure.” Journal of Policy History 30, no. 4 (Fall 2018): 695-726.
  • “‘A Honey of a Field:’ The Development of McGhee Tyson Airport, 1927-1937.” Journal of East Tennessee History 89 (2017): 23-47.