Stephen F. Johnson laid to rest

The young Marine went to war with the 97th Psalm tucked into his helmet.

Less than three months later, there was another Psalm, the 23rd, printed in the program of his funeral.

USMC Lance Cpl. Stephen F. Johnson was lauded Sunday as "the best Marine I know" by his friend and fellow Marine, Lance Cpl. Zach Tibbetts. But the most powerful words during the service at Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula were Johnson's own.

"If you're reading this, I'm not coming back from Iraq," Johnson said in a letter to his family, read at the service by Tibbetts.

In the letter, Johnson, 20, told his loved ones why he was fighting a war on the other side of the world: "I'll be damned if I'll let any terrorist take it [America] away from my family and friends."

Johnson was raised in Cobb County, but his parents, Stan and Lynn Johnson, moved to Dacula in Gwinnett County not long after he enlisted, shortly after graduating from Pope High School. He died in combat on Oct. 8 in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

He may have been a Marine for a short time, but Johnson received the full-treatment Marine farewell Sunday. There were more than 50 uniformed Marines among the 700 people who attended the service.

Two Marines stood at attention at the head and foot of Johnson's casket throughout the ceremony.

Besides Tibbetts' tribute to his buddy, other Marines read Bible verses.

And when a staff sergeant counted down for a final soundoff for Johnson, the Marines roared in unison, "OOOOH RAH!"

Johnson was described as a young man who saw a moral and spiritual dimension to his presence in Iraq.

A relative said Johnson wore a bandana under his helmet; the bandana was inscribed with a verse from the 97th Psalm.

Rev. David Watson, the presiding minister at the funeral, cited the verses of another Psalm, the 91st, which speak to God protecting those who believe in him.

"Some might get angry because God didn't protect Stephen," Watson said.

"But that view only takes into account the young Marine's mortal life.

"I tell you, he [Johnson] is more alive at this second than anyone else in this room," Watson said.

The minister also recounted a story shared by Johnson's mother.

Stephen explained to his mother that he was going to Iraq to protect her and the rest of their family. That was his job, told her.

She responded that as the mother, it was supposed to be her role to protect her children, Watson said.

"No, you can't do this one," Johnson told his mother.

From the Journal Constitution

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Stephen F. Johnson killed in combat in Iraq