Essay by Steve and Michelle DeFord
September 25th, 2004

A little about the life of Sgt David W. Johnson KIA in Baghdad Iraq
Sept 25, 2004

Our son David was a quiet man, a tall blond gentle giant. He loved the outdoors, his family, motorcycles and
animals of every description. Cooking was one of his passions and he was a great cook. He loved to read and
play video games with his friends. He had a funny sense of humor and made us laugh all the time. We never
heard him say an unkind word about anyone. If one of us would start to complain about someone he would
either change the subject or remind us of a good quality that they might possess. He dreamed of attending the
Culinary Institute in Portland to become “one of the greatest chefs of all time.” Sometimes he would get to feeling
down about cooking because he felt it was not all that manly. We used to tell him it was one of the most
important skills on earth Because everyone needs to eat… then he would laugh.

David joined the National Guard after 911. He wasn’t married nor did he have children so he felt he had the time
to devote to this good cause. When 911 happened we were all so shocked and horrified at the loss of life in New
York, we did not discourage him because we all wanted to do something to help. That summer David cooked for
his unit and helped fight forest fires in Oregon. It gave him a sense of pride in who he was and why he was here.
When his unit got their orders to deploy we were shocked and dismayed. We felt that the United States was
rushing into a war that had nothing to do with 911. At least it wasn’t clear to us what the connection was.

It has been said that in order to get people to accept war all you have to do is tell them they are being attacked
and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. Is that not what has
happened today? This administration has betrayed the nobility of our sons and daughters intentions. They do
not agonize about the daily loss of life. They are hopelessly trapped in their insane ideology. We have joined
MFSO and GSFP to help get the message to people who still believe what they hear on the news. They don’t
seem to realize these are real people with real families that will never be the same. If they are not ready to put
their children on a plane to Iraq how can they think it is okay for ours to die. Yet they do. It is time to bring the
troops home, before one more family has to suffer the agony and loss that our family has. This is an unjust,
immoral un-Godly mess.
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THIS GOOD MAN