|
|
|
|
Funeral service for children of the Johnsons |
|
|
Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
 Local residents show their respect for the funeral procession down Main Street in Benton on Tuesday for the two younger children of Army Spc. John Austin Johnson and Mona Lisa Johnson. Greg Smith, manager of Roller-Ballard Funeral Home, said people lined up at intervals along the route to Pinecrest Memorial Park. Many held flags, saluted and stood at attention, he said. (Courier photos by Lynda Hollenbeck)
Ashley Mishelle Johnson, 5, and Logan Wesly Johnson, 2, died Oct. 13 in a vehicle accident as they were en route with their mother and older brother to visit their father in a San Antonio, Texas, hospital, where he was recuperating from head injuries suffered in Iraq.
Tyler Johnson, 9, who attended Caldwell Element-ary School until this year, suffered massive head injuries in the crash and continues on life support at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. He remains in critical but stable condition today, a representative for Roller-Ballard Funeral Home said. The family had moved to Texas to await John Austin Johnson’s return from Iraq. He was waiting for his wife and three children to visit him at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio when another soldier told him his family’s car had rolled over four times on Interstate 10 about 12 miles east of Ozona on the gusty West Texas plains.
“There’s no change today in Tyler’s condition,” Greg Smith, manager of Roller-Ballard said. “He’s still fighting for his life, but every day is a good sign.”
At the cemetery Tuesday, two white doves provided by the funeral home were released by the parents, Smith said.
“We did this as a symbolic gesture and it seemed to mean a lot to the parents,” Smith said.
The children were buried in gravesites provided by an anonymous donor.
Smith noted that passersby were waiting at intervals all along the procession from the funeral home to the cemetery. “Many were holding flags, standing at attention and saluting. It was very moving.”
Attending the service were more than 200 members of the Patriot Guard, a group of volunteer motorcyclists who attend funerals of military personnel and their families.
Smith said the family has been very appreciative of all the support they have received — from the Patriot Guard, the community of Benton and the community at large.
He did not know the actual number of people who attended the service because many were not able to get into the chapel, which seats 250.
Patriot Guard riders came from several states, including Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas.
Chaplain Jeremy Miller of the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville officiated at the funeral.
Miller acknowledged that conducting this service was a challenge. “I hope I was able to help. I did the best I could.
“My message was titled “Where Is God When It Hurts,” Miller said.
He said he read several passages of Scripture, including the familiar words from Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die ... .”
Other selections included Psalms 139:1-12 and II Samuel 12:19-23.
Recorded music at the service included “Pieces of Me” by Ashley Simpson, “which was the little girl’s favorite song,” Miller said.
Also played was a recording of a children’s group singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children”and “In the Arms of the Angels” by Sarah McLaughlin, Miller said.
Patriot Guard riders served as pallbearers, Smith said.
“It was a touching moment when the doves were released at the burial site,” Smith said. “The doves are trained. They circle two or three times, then fly off into the horizon.
“We got them from Daniel Hash, a retired military man, at United Doves, who started this service,” he said. More information about the dove service is available at www.united doves.com.
Jill Byrd, a kindergarten teacher at Caldwell Elementary School, said earlier in the week that fourth-graders made cards for Tyler and referred to his father’s visit to the school last year.
Byrd was Tyler’s teacher last year.
“His father carried the flag in a music program and spoke to all the third-graders,” Byrd said.
Another donor purchased markers for Logan and Ashley. American Airlines provided the family seven round-trip tickets, and other groups are helping the family take care of expenses.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Schmidt said Johnson has survived five brushes with improvised explosive device blasts during two years in Iraq. The latest left him with a traumatic brain injury, and he speaks with a severe stutter.
“They’re really overwhelmed with gratitude from everybody,” Schmidt said. “They’re very humble people. Everyone’s coming together.”
|
|
|
|
Razorbacks
