« Congress Considering Slavery Apology | Main | Arabs Handling A Motor Bike ~ LMAO »
March 02, 2008
Update On Specialist John Johnson and His Wife After Car Accident
From my post on November 6th 2007
Specialist John Austin Johnson was injured in Baghdad, Iraq, with Traumatic Brain Injury. His wife, Lisa and their three children, Logan (2), Ashley (5), and Tyler (9) left Ft. Bliss (El Paso, TX), to drive to San Antonio to be with him. They were in a horrific car accident and all three children died.
The Texas Chapter of Operation Homefront
This is an UPDATE on how they are doing:
"A former Fort Bliss soldier and his wife on Thursday opened the bright red door to a new home and what they hope will be a fresh start after a tragic car accident claimed the lives of their three children.“It’s just more than I could have ever imagined,” Lisa Johnson said, smiling, as she and her husband, Army Spc. John Austin Johnson, toured the couple’s first home. With the help of Operation Homefront, the PGA Tour and KB Homes, the Johnsons purchased the 2,400-square-foot home and moved from Fort Bliss to a small San Antonio suburb.
“For them, this is really more than they’ve ever had in their lives,” said Amy Palmer, a co-founder of Operation Homefront, which helps wounded warriors returning from battle…Injuries from Austin Johnson’s two tours and the five explosions left the family in debt and led to bankruptcy, she said.
Operation Homefront raised $140,000 to help the Johnsons pay off their debt, complete their bankruptcy proceedings, buy a car, finance their home and move them from El Paso to San Antonio. The PGA tour raised $78,000, while KB Homes furnished the home.
Contributions paid for about half the cost of the $154,000 home. With the organization’s help, the couple secured an affordable $600 monthly mortgage payment for the remainder, Palmer said.
The Johnsons have more help, too, from generous donors in the El Paso area who contributed to an account that FirstLight Federal Credit Union established for the family.
The account closed Thursday with more than $86,000 in donations that came in over about two months, said Charles Morris, the credit union’s vice president of marketing.
“It could never fill the void or make up for the emotional damages and the trauma this couple has gone through, but it certainly will help,” Morris said.
Along with the financial generosity from El Pasoans, the Johnsons’ new home will have a long-lived reminder of their two years at Fort Bliss. Travis Elementary School, which Ashley and Tyler attended, dedicated an evergreen tree to the children and sent it to the Johnsons."
.
Wild Thing's comment........
I am so glad to hear how they are doing. So many times when we all post things we seldom find out updates. Please continue to pray for this family, healing is a slow process. Thank you all so much.
.
.....Thank you so much Mark for the link for information.
Posted by Wild Thing at March 2, 2008 12:50 AM
Comments
GOD BLESS TEXAS!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at March 2, 2008 03:24 AM
Thank you Mark and WT for the update. As warriors we are prepared for the loss of fellow warriors but never for the loss of their family members. Neither parent will get over the mental anguish of their loss.
Posted by: Jack at March 2, 2008 03:35 AM
These people are true Americans--digging in and doing what's right when it needs to be done.
God Bless Texas!
Posted by: Lynn at March 2, 2008 07:18 AM
I lost my grandson last August 4, he was just 20 months old. My daughter was devastated and still is. Nothing anyone can say, can make the pain go away, it is ever present. My daughter was lucky is this respect she still has two daughters.
I can not imagine losing all of your children in one accident. I can not even begin to know how they feel, this has got to be the most horrible thing in the world to happen to a family. This has got to be the biggest burdon of all.
I suppose in all of Gods wisdom there is a reason for these tragedies but for the life of me I can not figure it out.
Posted by: Mark at March 2, 2008 12:46 PM
Darth, yes love Texas. I have been praying for this couple since I heard about what happened to them.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 2, 2008 05:58 PM
Lynn they sure are.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 2, 2008 06:00 PM
Jack I agree, they have been in my prayer and will continue to be.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 2, 2008 06:02 PM
Mark, oh Mark I am so very sorry.
There is no way I will ever understand when things like this happen. I think it is the worst of all things to have this happen to a parent, to a family.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 2, 2008 06:11 PM
Mark... I'm not a priest but one thing consoles me in times of anguish. 'SINce' the fall of man (Genesis) we were and are subject to troubles, pain and suffering. If a family is wiped out in a car accident by a drunk driver, the car didn't kill the family... Evil is obvious 24-7 and we are in the devil's playground - big time. How the Old Testament prophets lived to be 700 and 800 years old is remarkable. Read Joshua 1:9. Condolences and God bless...
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at March 2, 2008 10:56 PM
I'm so sorry Mark, I know the anguish and it never truly fades. Most of the men in my unit in the RVN were married with families, most of us knew each other and our families, that was the one thing that sustained us. In April of '69 one of my fellow soldiers got word that his wife had been killed in an auto accident and that his two very young daughters had survived. He went suicidal, we kept him under constant watch until we could ship him out and even sent an escort with him stateside to make sure he didn't do something stupid. I never saw him again from the day he left, but that man's suffering lingers with me to this day, Chris passed away 05 Jul 1996 at age 50.
God bless you and your family Mark.
Posted by: Jack at March 2, 2008 11:43 PM
It is great to see some good news for a change!
Posted by: Odin at March 4, 2008 04:47 PM
