Veteran,
92, took his last stand defending his wife
by
Art
Toalston
COLUMBUS, Ga. (BP) -- John Dawson served in
World War II in the Pacific theater and in the Korean and Vietnam wars on crews
that catapulted planes off the decks of five different aircraft carriers.
He died at age 92,
however, by making the ultimate sacrifice for his wife of 72 years by battling
a home intruder.
As a leader in his
American Legion post, as a longtime churchman and as a father of two (Ricky and
Peggy), grandfather of seven, great-grandfather of 16 and
great-great-grandfather of six, he was "a truly remarkable man," his
pastor, Jerry Speer, said at Dawson's Oct. 1 funeral.
"Everyone has
focused on how he died," said Speer, of Northside Baptist Church in
Columbus, Ga., but "it is more important to know how he lived, where he
is, and what that means."
Dawson was killed
on Monday morning, Sept. 24, at his home battling with a 27-year-old man who
entered their home, according to the local Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.
The alleged
assailant, Darius Jamar Travick, wearing only boxer
shorts and shoes, stabbed Dawson multiple times and brutalized his wife
Virginia, leaving her with a concussion and facial injuries, then attacked two
neighbors after exiting the Dawsons' home.
Travick was arrested when
police arrived as he sat in the car of his grandmother, who lived nearby. He is
being held at the local Muscogee County Jail without bond. A defense attorney
told the media Travick will be examined for mental
health issues.
Speer often
addresses the "Why?" question regarding the horror inflicted on the Dawsons, who had lost a grandson in a murder a month
earlier in California.
"There are
whys that we will never know the answers to," the pastor told Baptist
Press. "What we need to focus on are the things we do know."
"We do know
that John was a Christian. We do know that he had a faith in a Savior who loved
him and died for him.
"We know that
those who accept Jesus as their Savior, being absent from the body [in death], are present with the Lord.
"We don't
make the instance of how he died the issue. We know that he died. And the truth
is, if Jesus tarries, we'll all die. … There are a lot of ways a person could
die. Sickness is certainly one of them, and that's how older people expect to
die. John Dawson went out fighting for his love, his wife.... Just knowing
John, if you've got to die, that would be a favored way rather than laying in a
hospital bed.
"The
important thing is: Have we made the
right decisions to get us where we need to be when we die?" Speer said,
noting that it's "Jesus who brings hope to the situation."
Wife's legacy
continues
Speer said
Virginia Dawson is "very grieved to be separated from the love of her
life, not unlike most other people in a situation like this. She's 89 years
old. This will always be part of her life. But she had a remarkable sense of
humor, she has a very strong faith and she knows God is going to take care of
things.
"These were
every-Sunday people," Speer said. "When they were younger, they were
every-service people" at Northside Baptist where they had been members
since 1995. They held hands crossing the parking lot and gave each other a
brief kiss before going to their respective Sunday School classes.
After being
released from the hospital, Virginia has been staying with a granddaughter and
is back in church.
"Her Sunday
School class is staying in touch with her. The church is staying in touch her.
She knows that we are praying for her," Speer said.
John and Virginia
"held everybody else in their family together" as their "refuge
and strength" and a source of wisdom and counsel, the pastor added.
"She is very much a part of that as John was."
John, then 21 on a
brief leave from the Navy, met 18-year-old Virginia as they were riding bikes
in the Beallwood community of Columbus. According to
a remembrance by a granddaughter, he proposed on the front porch of his future
mother-in-law's house a year later and they were married at a Baptist church
with 10 people in attendance.
During his
deployments, John kept in touch with Virginia through ship-to-shore ham radio
in the early morning hours. When they were together, the granddaughter wrote,
"They would dance all the time, by themselves in their home, in their
children's homes and grandchildren's homes, and out on the town!"
Dawson retired
after 26 years in the Navy with the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer and the
recipient of several medals.
Speer, addressing
Dawson's character, said, "There was a time that he drank fairly
extensively. When he became a Christian he knew that
he had to separate himself from alcohol, which he did.
"But he saw
the damage that alcohol caused in others so much that he determined he would do
what he could to push people away from it."
When he became
president of his American Legion post, located just across the state line in
Alabama, "The men took a stand with him to not serve alcohol," Speer
said. "As long as he was a member, they did not serve alcohol." In
2011, he was named as Alabama's "Veteran of the Year."
Dawson was known
for helping veterans any way he could at both the American Legion and the local
Veterans of Foreign Wars post. One of his favorite songs was the Vietnam-era
"Green Green Grass of Home." He loved
chocolates and his wife's cornbread. During his military career, the family
lived in seven states, and they once had a camper for vacations. He enjoyed
woodworking, especially making outdoor holiday decorations, along with
gardening, fishing and bowling. And he watched Atlanta Braves baseball games.
The couple stayed
current with the news and voted in each election. Dawson led the Pledge of
Allegiance at each senior adult gathering at Northside Baptist.
"John was a
guy who loved his nation. He was a fine example of The Greatest Generation, as
his wife is," Speer said. "He put his life on the line time and time
again in three wars for his country and was willing to do whatever it took for
the flag to continue to wave -- but also for people to know his Lord.
"If you want
to follow the example of an individual, he's not a bad one to choose, because
if you follow him, then you will find yourself at the feet of Jesus."