In a rare private ceremony held in July at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, the late Jeremiah “J.W.” Johnson of Greene County was one of two soldiers named an honorary Green Beret for their actions during a deadly 2017 ambush in Niger, Africa.
Johnson and Sgt. La David Johnson of Florida were two of the four American soldiers killed alongside four Nigerien partners when the joint American and Nigerien patrol came under hostile fire in southwest Niger on Oct. 4, 2017.
Before the July ceremony, only 10 others had received honorary Green Beret recognition, Task and Purpose has reported. Johnson’s father, also known as J.W. Johnson, said his son and La David Johnson are two of just three soldiers among that number.
“To get it posthumously as a soldier is just unheard of. For him to be given that honor means so much to me,” said Johnson, a Marine veteran who lives in Erwin.
Jeremiah Johnson was born in New Bern, North Carolina, where his father was stationed at the time at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. He attended North Greene High School and planned to retire in Greene County, where his father said much of their family lives.
Johnson said part of what makes the recognition so meaningful is that Jeremiah was working toward earning his Green Beret before he was killed.
“I always wanted him to be a Marine, but he chose his own path. When he joined the Army, he told me, ‘Don’t worry, I will end up in special forces like you,” said Johnson.
Johnson added that the process is very long and arduous, consisting of extensive physical and mental training and qualifications before and after selection for the program, with only about a 3% graduation rate. Once a member of special forces, it could take years to earn the beret, Johnson said. Jeremiah Johnson served five years as a member of Special Forces.
“He was taking the necessary steps to qualify for selection, and he was killed before he got the opportunity. So was La David,” said Johnson.
Through his own military background, Johnson said Jeremiah grew up around military and law enforcement personnel before he joined the military himself. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve at 29 in 2007 and joined the active duty Army in 2008.
With chemical and biological specializations, Jeremiah was first assigned to the 22nd Chemical Battalion, and in 2015 he was assigned to a chemical reconnaissance detachment in the Group Support Battalion.
On the morning of Oct. 4, 2017, he was one of 12 members of the Army Third Special Forces Group to leave the village of Tongo Tongo near the Mali border in a convoy of seven unarmored pickup trucks.
The patrol began taking small-arms fire from a tree line and tried a maneuver to outflank the enemy, but had to pull back.
The attack built in intensity as enemy fighters on motorcycles threatened to overrun them. An account of the action said the Americans and their Nigerien partners fought back fiercely, but were outnumbered and outgunned. They made several attempts to break out and withdraw, but had to retreat to a final defensive position.
Jeremiah was 39 when he was killed alongside Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, and Green Berets Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Washington, and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Georgia, and four members of Team Ouallam, named after the camp they staged from.
Jeremiah Johnson was also posthumously promoted to Sergeant First Class and awarded a Bronze Star Medal with Valor in 2019 at the Capitol Theatre in Greeneville for his actions in the firefight.
Johnson said that while he still feels the loss of Jeremiah, the recent honor eases some of that pain.
“It feels like something has been lifted off of my shoulders. I can still feel that void, and I can’t explain it. Something is just gone, and there’s that hole, but I’m ok,” he said. “It is unbelievable how much this has helped. I really cannot explain it.”
Johnson said seeing the camaraderie his son had in the Army, and military personnel’s continued correspondence and recognition for his son, have also brought him comfort.
“When the guys out of his unit found out Jeremiah and La David would get the Green Beret, the phone calls I got were just wonderful,” said Johnson. “I thought there might be some controversy and someone might say he didn’t pay his dues, but they all said he did. He paid with his life. When I went to the ceremony, all of the Special Forces guys and Green Berets that were there said he well deserved it, and so does La David.”
