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Designed by Marine Captain Melvin Johnson, the M1941 Johnson would be a  contentious weapon due to its competition with Springfield Armory’s M1 Garand for the job of being America’s first semiautomatic battle rifle. the M1941 Johnson would see limited action with the elite men of the Marine Parachute Regiment. From a hasty procurement of a small number of M1941s by Johnson enthusiast and 1st Parachute Battalion executive officer Captain Harry Torgerson, the M1941 would first see combat on Tulagi and Guadalcanal in 1942. Along with the fully automatic Johnson Light Machine Gun, the M1941 performed exceptionally well with the “Paramarines” in combat at places like Bloody Ridge during the campaign.

While the plan to fully implement the M1941 Johnson into the four battalions of Paramarines that comprised the Marine Parachute Regiment was never fully executed, the 2d Parachute Battalion would receive a compliment of 650 M1941 Johnsons in time for their Choiseul mission during the New Georgia Campaign in 1943.