Zach Johnson, UNC student and veteran, remembered

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Zach Johnson became inspired to serve his country, joining the Army right out of high school.

He had a fear of heights. To conquer it, he became an infantryman, jumping out of planes in the 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Fort Bragg.

After finishing tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, Johnson wanted to increase his knowledge of the world. So he enrolled at UNC with the goal of becoming a certified nursing assistant.

Johnson constantly sought challenges and adventure, and on Dec. 30, he talked to his mother, Joy Johnson, about his future at UNC.

“We were talking about school and what he was going to do,” she said. “He was just saying he wanted to take as many classes across as many different subjects as he could. Zach was like a sponge — he wanted to absorb all the knowledge he could.”

Later that day, Johnson died in a motorcycle accident in Raleigh. He was 24.

Joy Johnson said if there was one song she could have played at her son’s funeral service, it would have been Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”

Throughout his life, Johnson defied the norm, she said.

“He looked at things differently,” she said. “He challenged people about the process in many ways.”

Zach Johnson was deployed to Afghanistan for 15 months and Iraq for 12 months. Instead of returning home during breaks like many other soldiers, Johnson traveled the world, visiting countries like Thailand and Cambodia, his mother said.

Joy Johnson also remembers her son for his profound sense of kindness. He had an autistic older brother whom he would take care of when he was home in the summers.

Last year, The Daily Tar Heel featured Johnson in the Veteran’s Day issue. In the article, he spoke about his experience overseas and the effect it had on him.

“When I was overseas, I lived both my highest and lowest points,” he said in the article. “I saw all of the worst humanity has to offer but was also able to see glimpses of goodness shine through.”

Jesse Woods, who trained and served in Afghanistan alongside Johnson, said his fellow soldier provided a bright light in what seemed to be a dark place.

“In the Army, sometimes you’re forced to love everyone because they are in the Army with you,” Woods said. “But with Johnson, I realized you find your closest friends when you love them as a person, not just because they are in the Army with you.”

Johnson had just declared a peace, war and defense major at UNC, but a friend and fellow student veteran, Steven Orr, said he decided this semester he was planning to switch it to biology.

Orr, who served in the Navy before coming to UNC, met Johnson after he was featured in the paper on Veteran’s Day last year. Orr contacted him, wanting to meet a fellow veteran, and the two became close friends.

“I worked in intelligence. I knew quite a few smart people, but he was definitely at the top,” Orr said. “That’s the kind of person that I wanted to hang out with. Someone who could teach me something.”

Even now, Johnson’s personality is revealing itself to those who knew him. His father, John Johnson, said that throughout the funeral services and contact he has had with his son’s friends, he has learned even more about his son.

“This situation really shows you a lot about a person,” he said. “We’re learning more about Zach every day.”

Johnson was working with UNC’s Veteran Affairs department to review the University’s treatment of veterans’ non-traditional credits, John Johnson said. He was working for better credit appropriation for service in the military, specifically military science credits.

“It’s important to remember the people that are still serving,” Johnson said in the Veteran’s Day article. “They continue to give their lives for us every day.”

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.