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Bradwell legend passes
Clifford Johnson

Bradwell Institute’s legendary football coach and Riceboro native, Clifford Johnson died Nov. 13. According to his obituary he was 84 and passed at his home in Fernandina Beach.

The avid and tournament winning golfer and sports enthusiast attended Georgia Southern College, formerly Georgia Teachers College.

But in Hinesville, Johnson is known best for his thirty years of devotion to Bradwell Institute’s athletic programs and their football team (the Lions which then became the Tigers).

His football coaching career at BI started as an assistant coach under another local legend, the late Harold ‘Hokey’ Jackson. Jackson and Johnson led the Bradwell squad to their first and only state championship in 1965.

Hokey Jackson’s record was 96-36-6 in his 13 seasons at BI. Johnson kept the team winning when he took over as head coach in1970, going 131-60-3 in his 18 years as head coach, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. He took the team to four Region Titles. Johnson retied from coaching in 1987.

He also coached girls’ basketball and golf and was the school’s Athletic Director. He moved from Hinesville to Fernandina Beach four and a half years ago.

Liberty County Athletic Hall of Fame Chairman and Tiger Touchdown Club President, Craig Stafford, said Johnson was much more than a football coach to him.

“He was a coach that wanted the best for all his players on and off the field,” Stafford said. “And I think he worked hard to instill in his players that there was more to life than football. He was concerned about his players excelling at the next level. Whether that was helping them get a football scholarship or finishing school to get a degree and go to

college even if they weren’t playing. He always enjoyed hearing from his players and learning about all they were doing in all walks of life and he took pride in knowing he made a difference in many people’s life.”

Stafford said Johnson was also an educator.

“He taught me ninth grade health,” he said. “In his later years he was a Sunday School teacher for a men’s Sunday School class at the Methodist Church. “He was even a bailiff for a while for Liberty County Superior Court.”

“He was influential in many people’s lives in a very positive way,” Stafford continued. “I’m sad he is gone.”

Stafford said Johnson was among the first to be inducted into the Liberty County Athletic Hall of Fame roughly 17 years ago.

Former BI and Georgia Southern quarterback Raymond Gross said Johnson was a coach until the very end.

First, I offer my condolences to the Johnson family,” Gross said. “Secondly I want everyone to know that coach was a coach until the end. He was always there for his family.... the family at home and the family abroad. His players, his coaches and BI.

Gross said he always had Johnson’s support during his own coaching endeavors.

“He would always encourage me by informing me about an opportunity within the game he loved and sometimes outside the game,” Gross said. “The

last time I spoke to coach, he was doing just that...I call it the GSU Incident. He was watching a Georgia Southern game and the announcers made a factual mistake he knew was wrong...coach called to verify it with me and in his protective Head Coaching role, he showed his support. If he could have called the network, he would have done so in order to set them straight. This is what made coach Johnson unique....30 plus years later, he was still being a coach and father figure, he was still being a friend.”

Gross said Johnson was part of his family and locally, when it came to football, he was the solid building block other coaches learned from.

“For many of us from Liberty County, he was a part of the great foundation that was provided for us through athletics and community....in my family, he coached every male that played football in Liberty County with the exception of one,” Gross said. “His legacy will live on through everyone he has coached and loved as a coach, father figure and mentor. Coach will never be forgotten, and his legacy will live on through all us. Rest in Peace Coach, job well done.”

“He was a model coach, educator and father figure,” Stafford added.

Johnson’s services were held Nov. 17, at Burgess Chapel of Oxley-Heard.

 

 

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3rd ID, Army, allies mourn four soldiers lost in accident
Farewell ceremony set for Thursday morning in Lithuanian capital
four soldiers

The four U.S. Army soldiers assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry found deceased near Pabradė, Lithuania have been identified.  

The Army has confirmed the four soldiers who died when their vehicle sank into a bog as Staff Sgt. Edvin Franco, 25, Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez, 25, PFC Dante Taitano, 21, and Staff Sgt. Troy Knutson-Collins, 28.

"First and foremost, we offer condolences to the loved ones of our soldiers,” said Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “I can't say enough about the support our Lithuanian Allies have provided us. We have leaned on them, and they, alongside our Polish and Estonian Allies - and our own sailors, airmen and experts from the Corps of Engineers - have enabled us to find and bring home our soldiers. This is a tragic event, but it reinforces what it means to have Allies and friends.” 

The four soldiers, who were the crew of a M88A2 armored recovery vehicle, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25. Their vehicle eventually was found March 26 but it was beneath approximately 14 feet of water and sunk into more than six feet of mud.

Crews worked to drain the area around the vehicle to make it stable for heavy equipment needed to pull out the M88. U.S. Navy divers were flown in and attached cables to hoist points so the submerged vehicle could be lifted out of the bog.

"This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd ID commanding general. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.” 

Knutson-Collins, Duenez Jr., and Franco were all posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.

Knutson-Collins was an artillery mechanic with over seven years in the Army. He arrived at Fort Stewart in February 2018 and was assigned to 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion.

Knutson-Collins graduated from the Army Basic Leader Course, the Advanced Leaders Course, the Tracked Vehicle Recovery Operations course, and the Combat Lifesaver course. He deployed to Korea in 2020.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Master Technician Badge.

“Words cannot express how deeply this loss is felt by everyone in our unit,” said Capt. Jackson Patillo, commander, Foxtrot Company, 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion. “Staff Sgt. Troy Collins was an exceptional friend to all of us and an irreplaceable member to our entire Fox family that we will truly miss.”

“The pain we feel from this loss is insurmountable,” said Lt. Col. Erick Buckner, 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion commander. “Staff Sgt. Knutson-Collins was well loved throughout our unit and a brother to all. He was an expert, an incredibly talented mechanic and a warrior. We will never forget his dedication to his unit, his family and his country.”

“We are incredibly relieved that we were able to bring this recovery to an end and bring closure to all the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, who also grew up on Fort Stewart. “We cannot thank our Allies and fellow service members enough, especially the Lithuanians, who spared no resource in support of this mission. Together, we delivered on our promise to never leave a fallen comrade.” 

Throughout the seven-day recovery effort, the combined and joint team worked day and night to find the soldiers. 

“As the fourth and final soldier has been recovered from this tragic accident, we will continue to mourn their loss as we work to quickly return our Dog Face Soldiers home to their families,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps and former Fort Stewart and 3rd ID commanding general. “It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers. Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. We are forever grateful.” 

All four soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve to provide credible ground deterrence alongside Allies and partners, and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart. 

“I'm immensely proud of our entire team. They have been relentless in their efforts to search and recover our soldiers and get every capability and asset necessary to enable this effort,” Gen. Donahue said. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also posted on X his sorrow at the loss of the four soldiers.

“I want to personally extend my deepest condolences to the families of all four fallen soldiers,” he wrote. “Our hearts are heavy across the Department of Defense. We are deeply grateful to our brave servicemembers who enabled this difficult recovery and to our Lithuanian hosts who labored alongside them. The recovery was conducted with urgency, resolve and deep respect for the fallen. We will never forget these soldiers — and our prayers are with their families.”

A farewell ceremony for the soldiers will be held Thursday morning in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

“Every soldier is also a Lithuanian soldier, and their families’ pain is our pain,” said a statement from the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.

The U.S. Army is investigating the cause of the accident. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available. 

"We continue to stand by the families and loved ones through this incredibly difficult time,” said Maj. Gen. Norrie. “Now, it’s time to bring them home.” 

 

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