Sgt. La David Johnson Honored At Miami Gardens Memorial Day Event
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MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) – There are many Memorial Day ceremonies taking place across South Florida to remember our fallen military heroes, including one for Miami Gardens own Sgt. La David Johnson who was killed in action last year in Niger.
Sgt. La David Johnson was honored Monday morning at the Miami Gardens annual Memorial Day Breakfast, an annual event now named for the fallen soldier.
"Today we recognize and we named this breakfast in honor of one of our own," said Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert.
Watch: Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert III talks about fallen hero Sgt. La David Johnson:
Gilbert was on hand and passionate about how the death of Johnson affected this community almost like no other. Memorial Day is about the sacrifice of all, but he was more than just an Army Sergeant who lost his life or even a Florida native. La David Johnson was a Miami Gardens kid, said Gilbert.
"It's not just story on the news, it's not on one of the national networks or one of the cable networks, it's somebody who they went to school with, they played in the park with, sometimes we need to see the actual portrait of sacrifice, the portrait of sacrifice is Sgt. La David Johnson.
According to a recently released military report, Sgt. Johnson fought to the end. After being separated from his team, he was killed in a hail of bullets in October 2017 after being ambushed by militants in Niger.
The country watched a heart-wrenching video of his pregnant widow, Myeshia Johnson, sobbing over his coffin when his body was flown home.
Monday, Myeshia was presented with a soaring Eagle to remember her husband with the community he was a part of.
"My husband did something that he wanted to do, so from now I will celebrate this with my kids and my family in honoring my husband Sgt. La David Johnson," she said.
