Remembering Eric's father

This is a picture of Eric's dad, Michael Johnson, taken June 1967. The picture is of Michael (age 16) standing alongside his father, Wade. Michael was adopted by Evelyn and Wade Johnson when he was 9 along with his two other brothers (Greg, 7 and Bruce, 5). In high school, Michael worked for his father who owned a gas station.

Michael and Donna were married in February 1971 in Los Angeles, CA. Michael was drafted by the Army a week later in early March. Their first son, Eric, was born April 1972 in Augusta, GA and second son, Matt, was born October, 1973 in Okinawa, Japan. In October of 1976, Michael and his young family were stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, CO when he received orders to be sent without his family to Korea for one year to serve with an electronic calibration team. Michael was scheduled to return home on September 30th, 1977. On September 23rd, Michael fell over at the breakfast table due to a heart attack (acute myocarditis). They tried to revive him and rushed him to the nearby clinic for revival but it was too late. He was 26 years old.

The next couple of posts will be in memory of Michael...