Veterans Day gives everyone across the nation an opportunity to reflect and thank those who have served and who are currently serving our country. People showing overwhelming support for our troops on social media through Facebook posts, Twitter hashtags and Snapchat stories may seem commonplace, but for HEAT players Tyler Johnson, James Johnson and Josh Richardson, it hits a little closer to home.
That is because each of those players comes from a military family. Tyler Johnson’s mother, Jennifer Johnson, currently serves as a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force. James Johnson also has a family member on active duty, as one of his younger brothers, Mino Johnson, is in the Marines. Their father, Willie Johnson, is a former Marine Sergeant who now runs three martial arts schools in Utah, Las Vegas and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Richardson’s mother, meanwhile, Alice Richardson, is a retired Lieutenant Colonel with the United States Air Force Reserves.
Photo Credit: HEAT
Core Values
While all three had different upbringings, they still had fundamental military principles instilled in them at a young age.
“My house was always real strict growing up,” Richardson said. “You know, there wasn’t any going out partying, there wasn’t any staying out late at night or nothing like that. My grades always had to be top notch because in the military everything has to be perfect, top notch, so that’s kind of how I was raised.”
Richardson also remembers vividly how his mother used to train for her annual physical test. For a whole month, she would change her diet, wake up at five or six in the morning and be home before Richardson had to catch the bus for school. Because of that, he adopted her qualities of discipline and self-talk (telling yourself you can get through something).
Tyler Johnson, on the other hand, picked up some similar qualities from his mother, who was often away on active duty with the Air Force.
“[I adopted] toughness, no excuses, grit, a lot of things like that because she raised five kids and she was away a lot,” Tyler Johnson said. “But she was always involved, she always knew where everybody was supposed to be at and she never made the excuse like, ‘Oh it’s just me by myself with five kids and I also work in the military. I can’t get everybody where they need to go.’ She would literally get five different kids to five different places and then make sure she was at work on time and make sure she was supposed to be where she was at. I watched how she never made any excuses, so that’s what I learned.”
Since James Johnson was brought up in a family that also focused on mixed martial arts, he got the best of both worlds.
“It was good, you know, learning to defend yourself in both areas, the martial arts and then real combat,” James Johnson said. “[I adopted] toughness, perseverance and loyalty for sure.”
What’s Base Like?
There’s always this kind of mystique surrounding a military base, which is usually the case with something exclusive like a government-run facility. Still, Tyler Johnson and James Johnson characterized base as being like its own little city.
James Johnson has been on Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California and F.E. Warren Air Force Base near his hometown of Cheyenne. Tyler Johnson, meanwhile, has lived on two bases, Moffett Federal Airfield in Santa Clara County, California and Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington.
“Moffett used to have a rec center and a bowling alley. I mean, they had a lot of outdoor courts, but that was it,” Tyler Johnson said. “We would play a lot of capture the flag, there’s a lot of open area out there so we had big tag games. We’d get a bunch of kids from the neighborhood, do all that, manhunt, all that on Moffett.”
In the case of Richardson, he often visited Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City while in middle school. Of all the possible things you can think of, there was one really important thing the 23-year-old wanted to point out about the base.
“I always liked to go on base because of no tax,” Richardson said. “I could always go on base with five dollars and get food without having to bring change because it was five dollars flat. Base was great. That’s all I can really say about it.”
Photo Credit: HEAT
The Flag
This past August, Colin Kaepernick caused a stir by not standing up (and eventually kneeling) during the national anthem before preseason games. While opinions differ on what he did, Kaepernick’s goal was to raise awareness about social injustice. In trying to help the cause, the HEAT have elected to stand and lock arms during the national anthem as a sign of unity and togetherness.
That sign of respect must go a long way for Tyler Johnson, whose father, uncle and two grandfathers also served in the military. As such, he understands the sacrifice that our troops and their families have to make.
“More than anything, I know the sacrifice a lot of people go through, the people who carry that flag and the ones who are fighting for our freedom,” Tyler Johnson said. “And then the sacrifices that their families are making to send their loved ones overseas and allow them to do what they do so that we can do what we do. I just always try and show the ultimate respect during that time.”
James Johnson echoed his teammates’ sentiments.
“[The flag means] everything, especially my family members that served and are serving right now. That’s why I put my hand over my heart,” James Johnson said. “They’re fighting for our freedom, for my freedom, and just sitting down talking to them guys a little bit, you’ll see that them guys aren’t doing it because they have to. They’re doing it because they want to.”