Johnson MS (formerly Vanguard JHS) History
Opened: 1958
Closed: 1973
Vanguard Junior High was opened for the 1958-59 school year on Johnson Air Base. The school opened with almost three hundred students including ninth graders from Yokota Air Base. The school served dependents of the 441st Command Support Group. When the school opened, it had students in grades five through eight. For school year 1959-60, it served students in grades seven through nine with an enrollment of three hundred fifty students. The next school year, students in grades one through nine attended and the enrollment increased to 1700. For the next nine years, only seventh and eighth graders attended the school. The enrollment fluctuated between 335 to 448 students. In 1969, the school became a middle school with grades six through eight. For the next school year the fifth grade was added. The final year of the school, enrollment was only two hundred twenty students. The first yearbook, Oboemasu, was published by Vanguard students and included information on all four schools in the complex, Hilltop, Yukai, Tyre Park and Vanguard.
Sources: Japan District DOD Dependent Schools History 1946-2009 and school yearbooks