[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S679-S681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES
Lance Corporal Larry Johnson
Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I rise for two purposes this morning. The
first is to speak about a native of Scranton, PA, who died serving our
country in Afghanistan. LCpl Larry M. Johnson, just 19 years old, lost
his life in the service to his country in the last couple of days. He
becomes for Pennsylvania the 43rd soldier killed in action in
Afghanistan, with an additional 191 Pennsylvanians who have been
wounded at last count.
When we lose one of our brave young soldiers in Afghanistan or Iraq
or anywhere around the world, we have a lot to say about their
sacrifice and their service. I often, as we all do at one time or
another, quote Abraham Lincoln: ``These Americans gave the last full
measure of devotion to their country.'' No one said it better than
Lincoln. He captured the essence of their service and the sense of loss
we all feel when someone who is serving their country is lost in
combat.
LCpl Larry Johnson's duties were the following: He was the combat
engineer. His main responsibility was to combat and detect improvised
explosive devices, and we know them by the acronym IEDs. He lost his
life doing that work. Just 19 years old, he was a graduate of Scranton
High School in 2008.
In instances such as this, probably the best testimony about the
soldier's life, their commitment to their country and the sacrifice
they made, probably the best testament of all of those subjects comes
from members of their family. In this case, there was testimony in news
articles over the last couple of days from friends and teachers, but,
of course, most poignantly and most movingly from Larry Johnson's
family. Yesterday in the Scranton Time-Tribune there was an article
among several over the course of a couple of days, but this article in
particular focused on Larry Johnson's family. I unanimous consent to
have printed in the Record two stories, one entitled ``Teacher Recalls
Scranton Marine's `Really Good Heart.' '' That is the name of the first
story. That is February 21. The second story I ask unanimous consent to
have printed in the Record is entitled ``Knock at the Door Brought
Tragedy Home for Marine's Kin.'' That is from Borys Krawczeniuk,
February 22.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From citizensvoice.com, Feb. 22, 2010]
For Marine's Family, Knock at Door Brought Tragedy Home
(By Borys Krawczeniuk)
Johanna Johnson thought she would die first, not any of her
four kids.
``You're not supposed to bury your son. Your son is
supposed to bury you,'' Johnson, 43, said Sunday. ``It isn't
supposed to be this way.''
She worried about Larry, her third child, the Marine in
Afghanistan, the one who loved the outdoors and a good time
and loved his mom so much that he always promised he would
someday make sure she no longer had to work. He would buy her
a double-block home in California, and she would live on one
side and live off the rent from the other half.
``I'm 43 and he's acting like I'm 70,'' Johnson said.
She worried about him the way a mom worries about a son
fighting a war a world away, but this was not supposed to
happen.
Two serious-looking Marines are not supposed to come to the
door of a tiny, third-floor apartment on Moosic Street in
Scranton to report that your son gave his life in service to
his country.
Last Thursday, they did.
The official Marine version says Lance Cpl. Larry M.
Johnson, 19, of Scranton, died that day ``as a result of a
hostile incident while conducting combat operations in
Helmand province, Afghanistan.''
[[Page S680]]
Family members say a Marine who transported his body to the
U.S. told them Cpl. Johnson, trained as a combat engineer
whose job was to seek and destroy improvised explosive
devices, was the victim of one himself. He was part of the
renewed thrust into Helmand, the United States' biggest push
in Afghanistan since 2001. The goal is to chase away the
Taliban.
His funeral will be Thursday or Friday, family members
said.
Johanna Johnson was not home when the Marines arrived with
the bad news.
She was at work, second day on the job on the assembly line
packaging helmet shields at Gentex Corp. in Simpson where
they make the helmets American troops wear in places like
Afghanistan.
Ashley, 21, Larry Johnson's older sister, heard the knock
on the door from the bathroom.
It was a hard knock, she remembered.
``Is your mom home one Marine asked.
``I went to turn away and I was like, `Wait, did something
happen to my brother?' '' Ashley Johnson asked.
They never actually said Larry Michael Johnson was dead.
``I just knew,'' Ashley said. ``I saw the look in their
face that he was dead. I didn't even have to ask the
question.''
She broke down. She chokes up re-telling the story.
Her brother, a 2008 Scranton High School graduate, always
smiled. He loved to laugh and was good at breaking the
silence when a conversation paused with a joke.
He was no more than 5 feet 7 inches tall, and suggesting
Larry Johnson would be a Marine might bring a chuckle. He
enlisted in October 2008 only two weeks after surprising his
mother with his decision.
His father, an Army veteran also named Larry Johnson, would
do his best to get his son to bulk up by lifting weights, but
pictures show a skinny kid. In a senior prom picture, he has
a barely visible pencil-thin mustache.
His sister Ashley always wanted to take care of him.
He wanted to care for animals. As a 10-year-old, he dreamed
of being a veterinarian. He owned an unnamed python and could
draw highly detailed pictures of animals. Outdoors, he snow-
boarded, skied, water-skied, camped, rode all-terrain
vehicles and liked to party, family members said. Though he
was underage, he liked a beer or two now and then.
``The transformation that these Marines did to Larry was
something,'' said Jeff Whitney, Johanna Johnson's boyfriend,
whom Cpl. Johnson viewed as a stepfather. ``Not that he was a
bad kid, don't get me wrong. But he was headed in the wrong
direction, hanging around with knuckleheads. He was headed
straight to jail. I kept on him every time. I kept on his
butt.''
The Marines did the rest. His Marine pictures show a boy
turning into a man, with wider biceps and a more rugged look.
He gained respect for others, family members said, always
answering, ``Yes, sir'' or ``No, sir.'' After being deployed
to Afghanistan in October, he talked about how he would no
longer take life for granted.
At Christmas, he sent his mother a deep fryer and a crock
pot he bought online from Wal Mart.
On patrol, he would sometimes call her via a satellite
phone, sometimes when he should not have.
``He'd be out on a mission and he would call me,'' Johanna
Johnson said. ``He always worried about his mother.''
The last three weeks, well before he died, he did not call.
It is now apparent to family members that he could not
because the mission was being planned, and secrecy was
essential.
``I was stressing over my phone not ringing,'' Johanna
Johnson said. ``I kept saying `Why isn't he calling me? I
wish he would call me.' ''
____
[From the Scranton Times-Tribune, Feb. 21, 2010]
``Teacher Recalls Scranton Marine's `Really Good Heart' ''
(By Erin L. Nissley)
Jennifer Brotherton remembers former student Larry M.
Johnson as a good-natured kid who almost always had a smile
on his face.
When the Scranton High School teacher heard Friday the 19-
year-old 2008 graduate was killed while serving with the
Marines in Afghanistan, she was shocked.
``He had a really good heart and he was so full of
energy,'' said Ms. Brotherton, who was Lance Cpl. Johnson's
English teacher in 2006-2007.
``Any time a child dies, it's too soon,'' she added.
Lance Cpl. Johnson was a combat engineer assigned to 2nd
Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
He joined the Marines after graduating from Scranton High
School and was promoted to lance corporal on Dec. 1.
Information released Saturday by military officials
indicates that Lance Cpl. Johnson died Thursday ``as a result
of a hostile incident while conducting combat operations'' in
Helmand Province, Afghanistan. His remains arrived in Dover,
Del., on Saturday.
Efforts to contact family members were unsuccessful.
Scranton School District officials plan to reach out to the
family in the coming days ``to see what they might need,''
said Gregg Sunday, the district's business manager.
``I can't imagine what the family is going through right
now,'' Mr. Sunday said. ``It's a tragedy.''
Lance Cpl. Johnson was deployed to Afghanistan in October.
His awards include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National
Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
and NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.
Mr. CASEY. The one that focused on his family begins with this line,
speaking of Larry Johnson's family:
Johanna Johnson thought she would die first, not any of her
four kids.
This is what Larry's mom is quoted as saying in the second line of
the story:
You're not supposed to bury your son. Your son is supposed
to bury you. It isn't supposed to be this way.
The story went on to talk about what Larry's hopes and dreams were,
not only for himself but for his own mother. The story says that Larry
Johnson ``loved his mom so much that he always promised he would some
day make sure she no longer had to work. He would buy her a double-
block home in California, and she would live on one side and live off
the rent from the other half.'' That was a soldier's dream for his
mother--just 19 years old and not only thinking about the rest of his
life, not only volunteering to serve his country in the Marine Corps
and going to Afghanistan, but to have a dream--a dream for his mother's
future that he hoped to bring to fruition.
Larry Johnson's sister Ashley is 21 years old, just 2 years older
than Larry. She talked about the knock at the door that no family, no
mother or father, no brother or sister--no loved one--ever wants to be
present for. But Ashley heard the knock at the door. It was a hard
knock at the door, she remembered. The one marine who was at the door
asked, ``Is your mom home?''
This is what Ashley said after that. She went to turn away, and she
asked herself: Wait, did something happen to my brother? He never
actually said--the marine at the door--that Larry Michael Johnson was
dead, but Ashley said the following:
I just knew. I saw the look on their face that he was dead.
I didn't even have to ask the question.
The story goes on to talk about Larry's father, by the same name--
Larry--who was an Army veteran who served his country as well. It is
talking about how his father prepared him to go into the Marine Corps
once Larry made the decision to become a marine.
Then the story ends with a couple of references to, again, Larry's
mom--the one he had a dream for, the one he wanted to build a house in
California for someday in the future. The story says:
At Christmas, he sent his mother a deep fryer and a crock
pot that he bought online from WalMart.
He wanted to send that to her.
It says:
On patrol, he would sometimes call [his mother] via a
satellite phone, sometimes when he should not have.
But, again, he loved his mother.
Johanna Johnson is quoted toward the end of the story:
He'd be out on a mission and he would call me. He always
worried about his mother.
There is really not a lot more I could say about his life and his
sacrifice than what was contained in this story about what it means to
serve, what it means to give, as I said before, in Lincoln's words,
``the last full measure of devotion to your country.'' But we know that
when these lives are lost, it is not just about service, it is not just
about combat and the military or the Marine Corps. All of that is
relevant and critically important, but in the end these stories are
about families, about mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters.
For those who have loved and lost, we do our best to try to
understand, but we can never fully understand what Johanna Johnson and
her family are living through these last few days and will live with
the rest of their lives. They will be able to manage that loss. They
will be able to move on. But they will never be fully recovered from
that kind of a loss.
We are thinking of Larry Johnson and his family today. We are praying
for them. We want him and his family to know, in our own small way, how
much we appreciate his sacrifice.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of New Mexico). The clerk will call
the roll.
[[Page S681]]
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(The remarks of Mr. Specter pertaining to the introduction of S. 3017
are located in today's Record under ``Statements of Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence
of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. VITTER. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum
call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________