thedrifter
09-13-04, 07:11 AM
Mother inadvertently cultivated a Marine
Submitted by: MCRD San Diego
Story by: Computed Name: Staff Sgt. Scott Dunn
Story Identification #: 2004910183257
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif.(September 10, 2004) -- A decade flown from the nest, 29-year-old Sgt. Herbert L. Johnson Jr. still remembers how he learned to fly.
Before turning Marine in June, 1994, Johnson lived his mother's ideals, which today arguably relate to the Corps. Purnie Johnson-Fisher moved her family often. She sought multiculturalism. And as hard as it was for two young boys to understand, she raised her sons with a strict, traditional upbringing that others sometimes ridiculed.
"She's as demanding as any drill instructor, and just as professional," said Johnson, whose mother Purnie taught him to make military-style beds wrapped with 45-degree-angle folds and 16-inches of white sheets. Purnie said she intended for her sons to live with strong minds and tender hearts. In fact, Johnson married the only girl he ever brought home to meet his mother.
Johnson, an experienced drill instructor with Company L, finishes his fifth recruit training cycle today. As a DI training the Corps' future men, Johnson said he tries to lead by example.
"You can say a lot of things to people, but if they don't see you do it, they won't (do it)," Johnson said. "If you don't strive for a sense of perfection or a particular goal, then you can't ask your subordinates to do the same. You only undermine yourself."
After all, Johnson's mother raised him by example, striving to bestow in him certain disciplines and morals.
As she attended a dental assistant school in Kansas City, Mo., Purnie moved several times to escape rent increases. In moving so often, Purnie said, she hoped to leave the inner city to find safer urban areas where her sons could learn with and adapt to diverse cultures. She also hoped to keep sons Herbert and Jason out of trouble with other school kids.
"I remember Herb beat up a kid when he was about 8 or 9 years old because the boy was bigger and fighting his little brother. Herb is very protective of his family still," said Purnie. "My sons would be teased a lot because they spoke proper." She prohibited her sons from speaking slang. "The boys would say, 'Mom you're raising us kind of old-fashioned.'"
Additionally, the boys wore what mom could afford, which meant no expensive shoes or clothes in the house, even when mom became a dental assistant at a Kansas City military hospital.
The gentle-voiced mother said she hasn't always spoken so softly. "As a single mother, I had this fear: I didn't know what to do with my voice. I was scared. I didn't want them to become like other boys."
A good father figure would have solved many of those woes, and eventually, one did.
"Monty and I met and have been together since the boys started high school," Purnie said. Before finding her Mr. Right, Purnie made other attempts at marriage: She and Herbert L. Johnson Sr. divorced when Herbert Jr. was a year old. Ten years later, Johnson's mother remarried - this time to a Marine. That lasted two years.
Purnie's perfect man, Monty Fisher, happened to be a perfect father figure for her sons. She said Monty got the boys into sports and spirituality and kept them out of trouble.
"It's one thing to have Mom taking them to church, but having a man in the house and making those decisions was big," Purnie said. "Monty taught them ... if you're going to do something, finish it. He taught them that a man's character is important."
Johnson said he tries to emulate his stepfather's character, which is the epitome of a real father.
As Johnson began his Marine Corps career, Monty fell ill.
"It was very much out of the blue; it was a shocker," said Purnie. "Monty and I planned on traveling; I was starting my junior year in college. I had to quit school to take care of him."
Monty suffered a stroke while setting up a computer business. Across the world in Japan, Johnson said he heard the news and felt stuck. He wanted to be there for Monty, but his mother told him he was meant to be serving the Corps.
Monty has since suffered two more strokes and is bed-ridden, but Purnie said her sons' admiration for him has only grown.
"In him they see it doesn't matter what you're going through; it's how you act when you're going through it," Purnie said. "You can always find things worse. For that reason, I didn't put Monty into a home because I vowed 'for better or worse.' I vowed to endure sickness, maybe even poverty. I was going to care for my husband. You're going to find things very difficult in life. Sink or swim. What do you choose?"
Such a display exemplifies the Marine Corps core values of honor, courage and commitment, and it also hints to how Johnson would have been ready for the Corps when he joined right after high school.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookup/9CBCB212B186B25985256F0B007BDDE5?opendocument
Ellie
Submitted by: MCRD San Diego
Story by: Computed Name: Staff Sgt. Scott Dunn
Story Identification #: 2004910183257
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif.(September 10, 2004) -- A decade flown from the nest, 29-year-old Sgt. Herbert L. Johnson Jr. still remembers how he learned to fly.
Before turning Marine in June, 1994, Johnson lived his mother's ideals, which today arguably relate to the Corps. Purnie Johnson-Fisher moved her family often. She sought multiculturalism. And as hard as it was for two young boys to understand, she raised her sons with a strict, traditional upbringing that others sometimes ridiculed.
"She's as demanding as any drill instructor, and just as professional," said Johnson, whose mother Purnie taught him to make military-style beds wrapped with 45-degree-angle folds and 16-inches of white sheets. Purnie said she intended for her sons to live with strong minds and tender hearts. In fact, Johnson married the only girl he ever brought home to meet his mother.
Johnson, an experienced drill instructor with Company L, finishes his fifth recruit training cycle today. As a DI training the Corps' future men, Johnson said he tries to lead by example.
"You can say a lot of things to people, but if they don't see you do it, they won't (do it)," Johnson said. "If you don't strive for a sense of perfection or a particular goal, then you can't ask your subordinates to do the same. You only undermine yourself."
After all, Johnson's mother raised him by example, striving to bestow in him certain disciplines and morals.
As she attended a dental assistant school in Kansas City, Mo., Purnie moved several times to escape rent increases. In moving so often, Purnie said, she hoped to leave the inner city to find safer urban areas where her sons could learn with and adapt to diverse cultures. She also hoped to keep sons Herbert and Jason out of trouble with other school kids.
"I remember Herb beat up a kid when he was about 8 or 9 years old because the boy was bigger and fighting his little brother. Herb is very protective of his family still," said Purnie. "My sons would be teased a lot because they spoke proper." She prohibited her sons from speaking slang. "The boys would say, 'Mom you're raising us kind of old-fashioned.'"
Additionally, the boys wore what mom could afford, which meant no expensive shoes or clothes in the house, even when mom became a dental assistant at a Kansas City military hospital.
The gentle-voiced mother said she hasn't always spoken so softly. "As a single mother, I had this fear: I didn't know what to do with my voice. I was scared. I didn't want them to become like other boys."
A good father figure would have solved many of those woes, and eventually, one did.
"Monty and I met and have been together since the boys started high school," Purnie said. Before finding her Mr. Right, Purnie made other attempts at marriage: She and Herbert L. Johnson Sr. divorced when Herbert Jr. was a year old. Ten years later, Johnson's mother remarried - this time to a Marine. That lasted two years.
Purnie's perfect man, Monty Fisher, happened to be a perfect father figure for her sons. She said Monty got the boys into sports and spirituality and kept them out of trouble.
"It's one thing to have Mom taking them to church, but having a man in the house and making those decisions was big," Purnie said. "Monty taught them ... if you're going to do something, finish it. He taught them that a man's character is important."
Johnson said he tries to emulate his stepfather's character, which is the epitome of a real father.
As Johnson began his Marine Corps career, Monty fell ill.
"It was very much out of the blue; it was a shocker," said Purnie. "Monty and I planned on traveling; I was starting my junior year in college. I had to quit school to take care of him."
Monty suffered a stroke while setting up a computer business. Across the world in Japan, Johnson said he heard the news and felt stuck. He wanted to be there for Monty, but his mother told him he was meant to be serving the Corps.
Monty has since suffered two more strokes and is bed-ridden, but Purnie said her sons' admiration for him has only grown.
"In him they see it doesn't matter what you're going through; it's how you act when you're going through it," Purnie said. "You can always find things worse. For that reason, I didn't put Monty into a home because I vowed 'for better or worse.' I vowed to endure sickness, maybe even poverty. I was going to care for my husband. You're going to find things very difficult in life. Sink or swim. What do you choose?"
Such a display exemplifies the Marine Corps core values of honor, courage and commitment, and it also hints to how Johnson would have been ready for the Corps when he joined right after high school.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookup/9CBCB212B186B25985256F0B007BDDE5?opendocument
Ellie