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Johnson refuses to accept Purple Heart for head, eye injuries

Feb-20-2007 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

By Vila Schwindt, Cortez Journal Online

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Chess Johnson, raised in Dove Creek, is continuing to recover from severe head and eye injuries he sustained in Iraq in early December 2006.

Johnson returned to work as a soldier on Monday, Feb. 5, at Fort Lewis Army base, which is located in the Pacific Northwest on Puget Sound, adjacent to McChord Air Force Base. Soldiers at Fort Lewis receive first-rate medical care through Madigan Army Medical Center.

“Yes, I am back to work,” Johnson said via e-mail from Fort Lewis. “Other brigades are trying to get me to go over to them to train their men, (but) I don’t want to. I love where I am at.”

Johnson wants to go back to Iraq, where he served on an Army Interim Brigade Combat Team and worked on a Stryker, a versatile, wheeled armored vehicle that combines firepower with battlefield mobility.

“First, (I want to go back) because my men out there are family, not like family, but family I would do anything for, and second, because I want to end this war so no other men or women have to go back over there,” Johnson said.

Johnson refused to accept the Purple Heart, saying he would take it when the rest of his unit gets theirs, said his aunt, Katie Banks of Dove Creek. She added that the medic who saved Chess was killed in mid-January.

“I have been in touch with my boys via e-mail,” Johnson said. “A member of my squad seems to get around to e-mailing me once every two weeks.”


Comments For "Johnson refuses to accept Purple Heart for head, eye injuries":

Dear SGT Chess Johnson,
As the mother of a Stryker soldier, I salute you. You make me proud. It is men and women like you that make our Great Nation what it is. May God keep you safe as well as your "family" serving in the sandbox.
Wish I could hug you.
Joes Stryker Mom

Posted by: Linda, Stryker Momj [TypeKey Profile Page] | February 24, 2007 10:26 AM

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