The third child of Army Spc. John Austin Johnson of El Paso, Texas, formerly of Benton, and wife Mona Lisa has died in a Dallas hospital.
Tyler Anthony Johnson, 9, died Sunday at Children’s Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since suffering critical injuries Oct. 13 in a car crash that left his sister and younger brother dead.
He had been on life support since being admitted to the medical facility.
The accident occurred as Tyler, his mother and siblings were en route to visit the soldier in a San Antonio, Texas, hospital, where he was recuperating from head injuries suffered in Iraq. The family had planned to bring him to their present home in El Paso.
Ashley Mishelle Johnson, 5, and Logan Wesly Johnson, 2, were buried Oct. 23 at Pinecrest Memorial Park following a funeral service at Roller-Ballard Funeral Home in Benton. The children were buried in gravesites provided by an anonymous donor. Another donor provided markers for the graves.
Tyler’s funeral also will be under the direction of Roller-Ballard, but arrangements are not complete, a funeral home spokesman said today. Tentative plans call for visitation Wednesday and the funeral Thursday.
Tyler attended Caldwell Elementary School until this year. Jill Byrd, a teacher at Caldwell Elementary School, who taught Tyler last year, said fourth-graders made cards for Tyler and referred to his father’s visit to the school last year.
“His father carried the flag in a music program and spoke to all the third-graders,” Byrd 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 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.
Traffic investigators said Lisa Johnson was driving at the speed limit. The three children were riding in the back seat. Logan was in a child seat, but the other two children were not wearing seat belts, investigators said.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Schmidt said Johnson has survived five brushes with improvised explosive device blasts during two years in Iraq. The latest encounter left him with a traumatic brain injury, and he speaks with a severe stutter.
“The Johnsons are really overwhelmed with gratitude for the support they have received from everybody,” Schmidt said earlier. “They’re very humble people. Everyone’s coming together.”
Since Tyler’s death, the parents are too upset to to talk publicly, Schmidt said. He said they are coping as best they can.
“I think the good thing is they knew the death was coming,” he said. “They had itme to prepare for it this time.
“Right now, they’ve kind of had a mission, so to speak, going to hospital every day, checking on their son, burying two others,” he said. “When this calms down, they’re going to realize it’s just the two of them.”
Attending the service for Ashley Mishelle and Logan Wesly were more than 200 members of the Patriot Guard, a group of volunteer motorcyclists who attend funerals of military personnel and their families. Riders reportedly came from several states,including Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. They served as pallbearers.
As the procession moved from the funeral home to the cemetery, passersby were waiting at intervals as a show of respect, Greg Smith, manager of Roller-Ballard, said. Many held flags, stood at attention and saluted, he said.
At the cemetery, two white doves provided by the funeral home were released by the parents, Smith noted. “We did this as a symbolic gesture and it seemed to mean a lot to the parents,” he said.
Smith said previously that the Johnsons have been very appreciative of the widespread support they have received — from the Patriot Guard, the community of Benton and the community at large.
Smith was unable to say how many people attended the service for Ashley Mishelle and Logan Wesly because many were not able to get into the chapel, which seats 250.
Chaplain Jeremy Miller of the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville officiated at the double funeral. His message was titled “Where Is God When It Hurts.”
Miller 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 ... .”
Recorded music at the service included “Pieces of Me” by Ashley Simpson, “which was the Ashley Mishelle’s favorite song; a recording of a children’s group singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children”; and “In the Arms of the Angel” by Sarah McLaughlin.
American Airlines provided the family seven round-trip tickets to come to Benton for the first two children’s funeral and again is providing that service.
Other groups are helping the family take care of expenses.
Last week several Texas corporations and PGA Tour charities announced they were making a donation to Operation Homefront to help the Johnson family. The money they provided was to be used to purchase a vehicle and help settle bankruptcy costs the family has incurred because of Johnson’s military responsibilities. As of last week, the group had raised about $60,000, a spokesman said.
Any funds that remained after those expenses were paid will be be used to build a playground at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Amy Palmer, co-founder of Operation Homefront said.
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