MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — While the U.S. mourns the nation’s fallen service members on Memorial Day, Miami Gardens remembers the late Sgt. La David T. Johnson.

The 25-year-old U.S. Army soldier assumed a second fighting position during heavy enemy fire on Oct. 4, 2017, near the village of Tongo Tongo in southwest Niger, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Johnson, a wheeled vehicle mechanic on patrol with the 3rd Special Forces Group, took cover behind thick brush, continuing to fight under enemy fire from a vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun, according to DOD.

“Courage and dedication to his team were unmatched, engaging a numerically superior hostile force, disrupting the enemy’s freedom of movement, and killing several enemy fighters before succumbing to his wounds,” his Silver Star citation reads.

Johnson’s body was recovered on Oct. 6, 2017. He died of combat-related wounds and was buried on Oct. 21, 2017, at Hollywood Memorial Gardens. He was survived by his wife, Myeshia Manual, and their three children, Ah’Leesya, LaDavid Jr., and La’Shee.

Johnson, a Miami Carol City Senior High School graduate, also known as “Wheelie King 305,” was a member of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project and graduated from the ATI Career Training Center.

Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2014. His awards include the Silver Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Parachutist Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.

“Memorial Day weekend is really hard for our family, but I thank God for the city of Miami Gardens for honoring him every year since he passed,” said Cowanda Jones-Johnson, the aunt who raised him after his biological mother, Samara Johnson, died in 1999.

For eight years, the city has hosted a Memorial Day breakfast in Johnson’s honor. This year, Miami Gardens Mayor Rodney Harris held it at the city’s Senior Family Center, at 18330 NW 12th Ave.

“Memorial Day weekend itself is hard for me because a lot of people don’t really understand what this day really is, so with Miami Gardens doing it, I’m trying to be able to let the youth know, understand what they’re celebrating because a lot of us don’t know,” Jones-Johnson said. “I didn’t know what it was until my son passed away.”

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a moment of silence.

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Miami Gardens remembers Sgt. La David T. Johnson on Memorial Day

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