A man for all seasons

Image courtesy: U.S. Marines

Lance Cpl. Larry Johnson loved to be outside, regardless of the calendar. According to The Citizens Voice in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he liked to ski, camp, snowboard, and ride all-terrain vehicles. He also loved animals, and wanted to work as a veterinarian at some point in his life. First, however, he would tackle the extraordinary challenge of becoming a United States Marine. After making it through basic training and maturing into a man who would call his parents "sir" and "ma'am," Lance Cpl. Johnson took on one of the world's most dangerous jobs: finding and disabling improvised explosive devices.

On February 18, Johnson was killed in Afghanistan's Helmand province during Operation Moshtarak. While the Pentagon news release announcing his death says only that he was killed "supporting combat operations," the newspaper quotes family members as saying he was in fact struck by an IED explosion. Reporter Borys Krawczeniuk brings us a harrowing account of the moment his family learned of the tragic incident.

Ashley, 21, Larry Johnson's older sister, heard the knock on the door from the bathroom.

It was a hard knock, she remembered.

"Is your mom home?" one Marine asked.

"I went to turn away and I was like, 'Wait, did something happen to my brother?'" Ashley Johnson asked.

They never actually said Larry Michael Johnson was dead.

"I just knew," Ashley said. "I saw the look in their face that he was dead. I didn't even have to ask the question."

She broke down. She chokes up re-telling the story.

Johnson is from Scranton, the same city where my grandfather, a World War II veteran, grew up. This post's headline originally came to mind because "A Man For All Seasons," about Sir Thomas More, is one of my grandpa's favorite films. Yet after reading more and more about this fallen Marine, I realized the headline perfectly fit Johnson's life. A skinny Pennsylvania boy grew into a robust man of many interests: his family, friends, the outdoors, animals, and his country. While Lance Cpl. Larry Johnson was only with us for 19 years, his loved ones will fondly remember every one of them, especially as he is laid to rest Saturday morning.