TUSCALOOSA Dr. Robert Erwin Johnson of Tuscaloosa, long-time naval history professor at the University of Alabama, died on January 28, 2008, at DCH Regional Medical Center.He was preceded in death by his wife, Vivian Ellis Johnson of Tuscaloosa, and a brother, Clifford Johnson of North Bend, Oregon.He is survived by two sisters, Nancy Peterson of North Bend, Oregon and Frances Menegat of Myrtle Point, Oregon; and one brother, David Johnson of North Bend, Oregon. Dr. Johnson was born in Marshfield, Oregon in 1923. He served in the U. S. Coast Guard during World War II in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He received his bachelor's degree in history in 1951 and his master's degree in history in 1953 from the University of Oregon, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his Ph.D. degree in history at Claremont Graduate School in 1956. Robert Johnson came to Tuscaloosa in 1956 to teach history at the University of Alabama. He taught in the Department of History from 1956 to 1993, serving as chairman of the department in the early 1990s. His book, "Guardians of the Sea", won several prestigious national awards. A private funeral service will be held in Oregon. Memorial gifts may be made to the United States Naval Institute, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402-5034.Heritage Chapel Funeral Home, a Dignity Memorial Provider, is in charge of arrangements.