Johnny Walls
 |
| Age: |
|
41 |
| Hometown: |
Bremerton, WA |
| Date of Death: |
11/2/2007 |
| Incident Location: |
Uruzgan, Afghanistan |
| Branch of Military: |
|
Army |
| Rank: |
Sgt. 1st class |
| Unit: |
1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division |
| Unit's Base: |
Fort Riley, Kan |
|
Walls was always a tough guy, said his brother Harvey, 44. Big for his age, he was a hard-hitting linebacker at Bremerton Junior High. He didn't grow much more, however, peaking at about 5-feet-7 and 170 pounds. Instead of continuing with football in high school, he worked after classes.
Growing up in Bremerton, Walls loved to fish off local docks, his siblings said. Harvey remembers the two of them playing football and flying kites at Ivy Green Cemetery off Naval Avenue. They liked to build model ships, take them down to the bay and blow them up with firecrackers.
Walls was actively involved in Bremerton's Hillcrest Assembly of God, where he sang in a quartet.
Roxana held on to a note Walls wrote to her when he was 16 years old. It says, "If I ever called you a Twinkie, it's because you're so sweet." He said to save it, and she did.
As an adult, Walls enjoyed fishing, gardening, cooking, tinkering with his '69 Mustang and spending time with family.