Marine Lance Cpl. Raymon L. A. Johnson

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Raymon L. A. Johnson, 22, of Midland, Ga.

LCpl Johnson was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Oct. 13, 2010 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Family Remembers Marine Killed in Afghanistan

22-year-old Lance Cpl. Raymon Johnson of Midland stepped on an explosive device, according to his family.

The family of 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Raymon Johnson tells News 3 he had always aspired to be a Marine, even trained and lost weight after high school to achieve his goal.

Johnson was killed Wednesday in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. His family says he stepped on an explosive device in Helmand Province. Johnson was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, from Camp Lejeune, N.C.

"We begged him not to go into the Marine Corps," said Wendolyn Smith, Johnson's aunt and twin sister of his mother. "We asked him to go into the Army, Navy--any other branch because the marine corps mission is to be first."

Johnson is survived by his two parents, a sister and a twin brother, Ramon Johnson, who is a soldier in the Army. He and his parents are in Dover, Delaware, where they will receive his remains.

Lance Cpl. Johnson's parents have requested privacy during this time to deal with their grief.

Johnson's cousin, Monique Smith, remember him and his twin Ramon playing military-themed video games when they were little.

"I think watching them play those video games, it was actually now he was the real deal," Smith said.

My father was a captain in the Marines and Raymon was very close to him.” She added that when her cousin arrived in Afghanistan he talked to his mother, Gwendolyn Johnson, and told her that he was doing fine. “There were some things he wanted her to send him,” said Smith. “I don’t think the package is even there yet.” The Marine’s mother had surgery in Atlanta this week. Shortly after arriving home from the hospital, she heard the knock at the door and got the news about her son. “The last time she had spoken with Raymon, she told him to come home safe, and he promised her he would,” said Smith. “When we talked to him, he said everything was fine,” said his father. “My son was a good young man. He wanted to serve his country.”

“He was the point man on a security patrol and stepped on a improvised explosive device,” his father, Greg Johnson, told the Columbus-Enquirer.

Lance Cpl. Johnson is survived by his parents Gregory and Gwendolyn Johnson, his twin brother Ramon and a sister, as well as other extended family members.

Marine Lance Cpl. Raymon L. A. Johnson was killed in action on 10/13/10.