Jeremiah Johnson succombs to injuries from rollover accident

A Vancouver memorial service is being planned for late next week for Army Spc. Jeremiah Johnson, a one-time Prairie High School baseball star, who died Friday in Germany 10 days after suffering critical brain injuries when a Humvee rolled over into a canal in Baghdad.

“Bless his heart, we were with him to the end,” said Johnson’s mother, Elizabeth Johnson of Vancouver, in a telephone call from Germany. “At about 1:52 p.m. here, our time, Jeremiah passed away.” Death came at 4:52 a.m. Friday PST. He was 23.

Johnson is the ninth service member with local ties to die since the war in Iraq began in March 2003. He is approximately the 3,007th U.S. service member to die in Iraq since the war started.

Soldiers from another Humvee crew pulled Johnson from the water after he was submerged for more than 10 minutes on Dec. 26. He suffered critical brain damage from being deprived of oxygen, but survived to be flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where his parents and wife watched over him night and day for more than a week.

Besides his mother, Johnson is survived by his wife, Gale; two children, Isaiah, 4, and Rya, 2; and his father, David Johnson of Vancouver. He also is survived by four siblings: Naphtali, 21; Lauralee, 20; Zachary, 17, and Tim, 15. He is survived by many other relatives, several of them in the Vancouver area.

Two of Johnson’s buddies also were killed when the Humvee crashed during a night patrol with Johnson standing in the turret as the gunner. Army authorities continue to investigate the crash but said they believe no hostile fire was involved.

The other soldiers killed were Johnson’s best friend, Army Spc. Joseph A. Strong, 21, of Lebanon, Ind., and Spc. Douglas Logan Tinsley, 21, of Chester, S.C. All were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division based at Fort Richardson, Alaska. Since their unit deployed to Iraq in October, 12 soldiers from the unit have been killed and at least 45 others have been injured.

Hundreds of well-wishers said prayers for Johnson’s recovery and sent prayer- and hope-filled messages to his family on the Web site www.caringbridge.org. Those who wish can click on visit and enter jeremiahjohnson to enter a message.

“When Jeremiah was transported to Germany, the doctors told us that he had suffered massive brain damage,” Elizabeth Johnson said. “They informed us that it was very likely that his brain function would continue to deteriorate. Last night (Thursday) at around 10 p.m., that became evident as his blood pressure plummeted. We stayed with him throughout the night into the next morning. Finally, the doctors, through further testing, determined that all brain function had ceased.”

Doctors gave Johnson many tests, but were unable to discover any help for his brain damage, Johnson said. If he had survived, he might have ended up in a persistent vegetative state, and he explicitly stated that he didn’t want that. He had signed an advanced directive asking that his life not be unnaturally prolonged.

“But that never came into play,” he mother said. Johnson died despite being on life support.

“So many people prayed for a miracle, and people may think that a miracle did not happen,” his mother said. “But the miracle has happened through all the people that Jeremiah’s life has touched. Lives will never be the same again. God sees the big picture and we are part of it.

“Because of Jeremiah, people’s lives have been changed,” his mother added late Friday. “He is being an organ donor right now, so his legacy will go on.”

From the Columbian