“I had a bunch of baseball scholarships,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to go to college. I didn’t have much discipline back then, and I knew I wouldn’t make it.”

A 1992 graduate of Northeast Hamilton High School, Johnson chose his own route and found a place known for its ability to instill discipline.

“I signed up for the Marine Corps,” Johnson said. “It’s just what I always thought I would do, and what I wanted to do.”

The next four years of his life, from 1992 through 1996, would be spent far from Iowa, divided between California and Okinawa, Japan.

Only a few months out of high school, Johnson was inducted into the U.S. Marine Corps. In July 1992. His first stop was San Diego, California, for 13 weeks of basic training.

“It was long — 13 weeks — it’s the longest basic training of any branch of the military,” Johnson said.

He remembers that time as just a lot of drilling. After graduation from Boot Camp, he was dispatched to Camp Pendleton, still in California.

“Everyone in the Marine Corps does infantry training, so I went to Camp Pendleton for three months of infantry,” he said.

The infantry appealed to Johnson, and that was actually his first choice for an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty). His hope was to eventually become part of Special Forces. Of course, as so many veterans can attest, the MOS they want, and the one they end up with are seldom the same thing.

“I ended up being a truck driver,” he said.

With his training completed at Camp Pendleton, he was then off to a one-year tour of duty in Okinawa, Japan. The site of some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II, Johnson noted that there were a number of historical sites on the tiny Pacific island.

“It’s a small island,” he said. “You can only go so far east, west, north or south.”

Indeed, at less than 500 square miles, Okinawa is smaller than Hamilton County. Critical as a staging location, American forces paid a tremendous cost to secure the island, with more than 49,000 casualties, including 12,000 deaths.

Johnson is grateful for his time in the service, a family tradition he shares with his dad, LeRoy Johnson, of Kamrar.

Johnson served as a guardian for his dad when the father and son duo traveled together earlier this year with the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

“It was great, for dad especially,” Johnson said. “He was able to soak it all in and really enjoy it.”

While his dad struggles with a few health problems, traveling with his son as a fellow veteran on the Honor Flight made it much more meaningful. He praised the board members and volunteers who made the trip possible.

“I appreciate what everybody is doing at the Brushy Creek Honor Flight,” he said. “They are great people.”

Spending the day with his dad was a plus for both veterans, and a day they will never forget.

“Probably the best thing was when we were driving through Arlington National Cemetery and he looked at me and said, ‘This is something I can’t ever forget.'”

LeRoy Johnson is also a Marine Corps veteran, serving from 1958 through 1962. Much of his time was spent as a jet mechanic onboard the USS Lexington in the North China Sea.

For the younger Johnson, who was honorably discharged as a corporal in July 1996, his choice of military service isn’t something he would recommend for everyone, but he still knows it was the right call for him personally.