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Second Lieutenant Johnson C. Wells was a Tuskegee airman whose death cut short a promising life. He is considered a Buffalo war hero and is memorialized by the VFW Post that bears his and another war hero names; the Bennett-Wells American Legion Post 1780.

Wells was born in Sulligent, Alabama. His father is listed only by his first initial L. Wells and his mother was Bobbie Campbell. He attended schools in Buffalo, graduating from School 6 and Hutchinson Central High School in 1938. A talented athlete in both basketball and tennis, Wells was named the 1936 champion when he won the National Negro Junior Tennis Tournament in Xenia, Ohio. He was a junior high school student. Following his death, the Johnson C. Wells Memorial Tennis Club was founded in Buffalo. The Club was active locally and nationally for many years.

Following graduation from high school, Wells attended West Virginia State College. He joined the Air Force when he was 22 and trained at Tuskegee Army Field. He was commissioned in July 8, 1943. Tragically, Wells was killed during a routine training flight at Selfridge Field, Michigan. The date was September 28, 1943.

Wells married Ester Ruth Smoot on January 2, 1943. She was a fellow student at West Virginia State College. In addition to his mother he was also survived by two brothers, Marvin and Melvin Campbell.

Wells' funeral was held in Buffalo at St. Luke's A.M.E. Church. It was officiated by Rev. Sidney O.B. Johnson. He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY.