THE FINAL SALUTE. No Politics, Just Pain at Sgt. LaDavid Johnson's Memorial
Hundreds of people gave their condolences to his widow, Myeshia, including a Vietnam veteran who saluted the fallen soldier though he outranked him.
JAMES LAPORTA
10.21.17 12:50 PM ET
COOPER CITY, Florida The politics have been silenced, at least for a moment here, by hundreds of people that came to honor the sacrifice of U.S. Army Sgt. LaDavid T. Johnson.
The sounds that have been left are complete strangers, who stood in line Friday to extend their condolences to Myeshia Johnson, who sat at the end of the front row near the pulpit where her husband laid inside a coffin draped in the American flag.
Praise and worship music and Lee Greenwoods God Bless the USA, reverberated throughout Christ the Rock Community Church as family memories are displayed on two large screens flanking the casket holding an American hero.
One photo was of 2-year-old La David Johnson, Jr., laying on his fathers back as he typed on his computer. Another shows Mr. Wheelie King 305, as Johnson was known for being able to perfectly execute riding a bicycle after popping it up onto the back wheel. Another photo was simply of Johnson and his wife posing together, smiling and full of love. They were best friends that became husband and wife in Aug. 2014 and had two children, AhLeesya and La David, Jr. Myeshia is pregnant with their third to be named Lashee expected to arrive in January and unable to meet her father.
Life as a U.S. soldier affords little time to take stock of all one has lost in service to country. Birthday parties and wedding anniversaries, a childs first steps and the warmth of a spouse under a cool set of sheets. But Johnson was able to balence the life of a family man and the arduous life of a soldier as he found strength to carry on through faith and family.
I KNO I'M NOT PERFECT BUT ALL I WANNA DO IS MAKE THE BEST OF LYFE... SEE ME EVERYDAY I WAKE UP TO SEE WAT I DID TO MAKE TODAY BETTER THAN YESTERDAY, Johnson posted on Facebook.
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