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At this point in their military careers, it would seem that Ret.Marine Corps M/Sgt Raymond Johnson vastly outranks hisgranddaughter Kayla Johnson, a Virginia Military Institute cadet.Yet last November, that didn"t keep Kayla from giving hersuperior a direct order. "She didn"t ask me," recalled Raymond Johnsonwith a chuckle. "She told me." The occasion was the annual Ring Figure, an ancient VMI traditioncelebrating the advancement (or survival) of the third-year class.Cadets choose their own dates for this event, which also involves aformal dance as well as the presentation of the class ring, andKayla chose her grandfather. "The only problem," Raymond said, "was that Ididn"t fit into my dress blues anymore. I had to go up toQuantico and be refitted for some more." Today is Memorial Day, which has come to represent paying homageand gratitude for those Americans killed in our various wars. Whichis well and good, but it"s also a good time to honor thosewho are still alive. The survivors. Raymond Johnson, for example, served in three conflicts —World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He spent 26 years in the MarineCorps, enlisting at age 19 in 1944 just in time to participate inthe last of the "island hopping" Pacific campaign todislodge and defeat the Japanese. "I was on Iwo Jima when they planted the flag," hesaid, "but I didn"t actually see it done. The guys whodid it were from a different unit." So diverse was Johnson"s service that he has to refer to ascrapbook — put together by his wife and granddaughter— to trace it accurately. The photographs and news clippingsare like bread crumbs left along a wooded trail to point the wayout. "I enlisted," Johnson said with a smile, "to getaway from the farm. My Dad worked us pretty hard." Now, after a 50-year full circle, he"s back on that same farm— just a few miles outside the Town of Amherst — in ahouse he helped to build. "Two of my brothers also live on this land," he said,"and a couple of nephews. It"s funny — when Ileft back in ‘44, I never planned to come back." He did manage to take one farm-acquired skill into the service withhim — at Fort Monmouth, N.J. after WWII, he served as one ofthe last "horse Marines," riding a perimeter to guardan ammunition depot. "I learned to ride when I was just a kid," he said,"and it came in handy." He served in the tropics (Iwo Jima, Guam, Okinawa), in the Arctic(Alaska and the Aleutian Islands) and a dozen stops in between(China, Japan, Europe, California). He fought the Japanese and thenhelped them adapt to being occupied. He learned — the hardway — not to dig a fox hole in the wrong place on Iwo Jima,since it was a volcanic island with hot springs hidden underground.He received dozens of good conduct awards and then was busted downa rank when, he recalled, "this other guy and I were in a barand missed our ship when it left." Meanwhile, his only granddaughter has been marching in hisfootsteps. "I guess the stories he used to tell me had a lot to do withme choosing the military," Kayla said. "VMI was theonly place I ever wanted to go to school." As for the infamous freshman hazing known as the "ratline," Kayla recalled, "I realized very quickly that itwas just a mind game. Most of the time, when I got punished, it wasfor giggling." Her genetic toughness became apparent when she contracted thyroidcancer that forced her to miss most of a year at VMI. "I got a lot of help there from my mom," Kayla said,"because she had the same thing and beat it." Her only lingering regret is that her brush with cancer —she"s now cancer-free, as is her mom — might keep herout of the Marine Corps when she graduates next year. "You can"t be in the Marines if you"re onmedication," she said. "I should still be able to gointo the Army." This summer, she"ll be taking a class in Irish history— in Ireland. A new scrapbook is waiting. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as PU Coated Leather , China PVC Synthetic Leather for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits PU Bag Material.
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