[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H2341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H2341]]
                   HONORING SPECIALIST JUSTIN JOHNSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the life of 
a true American hero, Specialist Justin Johnson from Floyd County, 
Georgia. Specialist Johnson was killed in action on April 10, 2004, 
when he was hit by shrapnel from a roadside bomb in Iraq. He is the 
first soldier from Floyd County to fall in our effort to free the Iraqi 
people.
  Like countless others after 9/11, Justin felt called to serve and 
protect his country, so he enlisted in the Army. Prior to enlisting in 
the Army, Justin worked construction with his father, Joe, who was 
himself a retired soldier. By enlisting, Justin proudly followed in the 
footsteps of his father and his older brother, Josh, who is currently 
stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Like his father, Justin was a 
forward artillery observer.
  On April 10 Justin had only been in Baghdad 8 days when he was riding 
gunner on a Humvee and paid the ultimate price. His mother received 
word of his death when she returned home from church on Easter Sunday 
and just 2 weeks after undergoing major surgery. The news came to her 
as her husband, Justin's father, was joining a National Guard unit in 
Washington State that was preparing to deploy to Iraq so as to be with 
his son in the defense of our Nation. As they had earlier on the 
construction site, Justin and his father would have worked together, 
worked in the rebuilding of Iraq and assuring their freedom and 
protecting the world from terrorism.
  I recently had the opportunity to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, 
and I was moved by their reaction to this tragic event. When I spoke to 
them, all they could say was that their loss had only made them more 
resolute in their conviction about the rightness of this war; and Mrs. 
Johnson was especially vocal about how America's efforts have given 
her, and all Americans, a freedom from fear. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson 
remain firm in their support of President Bush's stand in Iraq and 
declared that he is a ``true man of God.''
  At Specialist Johnson's funeral, when a bugler began to play taps and 
the honor guard fired a rifle volley, Joe Johnson saluted his son for 
the last time as they laid him to rest. Justin was posthumously awarded 
a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his heroic service.
  Mr. Chairman, this is a proud American family giving all that they 
have to their country and more. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are to be 
commended and honored for their sacrifice, and my thoughts and prayers 
remain with them as they endure this difficult time.

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