Army Spc. Rodney J. Johnson

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Rodney J. Johnson, 20, of Houston

Spc. Johnson was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died Sept. 4, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit.

Fort Riley soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

FORT RILEY, Kan. — Spc. Rodney J. Johnson, 20, of Houston, died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit Sept. 4 in Baghdad, the Army announced Sept. 5.

Johnson was a cavalry scout assigned to 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.

He joined the Army in September 2005 and began serving with the 1st Infantry Division in March 2006. This was his first deployment to Iraq.

Mourners honor slain Houston soldier's sacrifice
By ROSANNA RUIZ

Flags slapped taut in the breeze today at the Houston Veterans Affairs National Cemetery, where mourners gazed toward Spc. Rodney J. Johnson's silver coffin.

A volley of gunshots echoed throughout the hemicycle, followed by the playing of Taps by a bugler who stood in the distance.

Johnson's pregnant wife, Ashley, stared blankly as Brig. Gen. Keith Thurgood knelt before her with a folded flag. Two flags were presented to Johnson's parents, Rodney E. Johnson, a Houston police officer, and Charlotte Johnson.

Before the burial service, Spc. Johnson was remembered for his sacrifice at a ceremony at Berachah Church.

"Very few individuals have the chance to give their lives for a noble cause," said the church's pastor, the Rev. Robert B. Thieme III. "Such a man who offered his life was Rodney J. Johnson."

Johnson, 20, died Sept. 4 in Baghdad, when insurgents attacked his unit. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

He attended Hastings High School and, shortly afterward, met Ashley Cavazos in 2004. They were married in December 2005, a few months after he joined the Army. He was deployed to Iraq in February this year.

The couple have a 9-month old daughter, Ja'Aliyah Johnson, and Ashley is due to give birth to their second child soon.

In the funeral bulletin, Johnson's wife wrote that her children "will know of how loving a father and husband you are ... I wish we had more time together just to raise our children."

Family was an important part of Johnson's life, his relatives said.

Johnson's father said his thoughts now are focused on the family his son left behind.

He said that, when his son went off to war, he was prepared for the worst.

"I always wondered, 'When will I get my call?'" he said.

Rodney E. Johnson has another son, Spc. Andrew Whitson, also serving in Iraq. He was granted leave to attend his brother's funeral.

"I'll just pray to get him back," Johnson said.

Rodney J. Johnson also is survived by a sister, Maci S'Mar Johnson, and another brother, Markis Mitchell, of Houston.

Army Spc. Rodney J. Johnson was killed in action on 9/4/07.