KOUNTZE, Texas — 12News is shining a spotlight on a war hero from Kountze who is giving back to his fellow veterans.
35-year-old United States Army veteran Kyle Johnson suffered a traumatic brain injury during one of his deployments. He was able to get back on his feet and follow his dreams with the help of a veteran nonprofit.
His dream was to own a blueberry farm.
Now that dream is a reality. Johnson is the owner of KJ Farms located at 3371 Farm to Market Road 1293 in Kountze.
Over the course of 10 years, Johnson was deployed nine times. He'll never forget what it was like staring into the face of danger.
"I'm not a behind the desk kind of guy," said Johnson.
Owning and operating his own blueberry farm was a dream of his since he was 14-years-old. He got his parents' blessing when he turned 18-year-old.
"They loved it. And I broke ground about a month or two later," Johnson said.
But life on the farm wasn't the only way Johnson wanted to carry on his family's legacy .
"My dad's dad was in the air force. My mom's dad was 82nd airborne. All her brothers were 82nd airborne. My cousins were cat scouts with Louisiana National Guard, and they deployed in Iraq in '05, '06... I wanted to one-up them," Johnson told 12News.
Johnson joined the army in 2010. Eventually, he was selected for the first ranger battalion in Savannah, Georgia where he became a dog handler and deployed to Afghanistan nine times.
"I got hurt the last two deployments. I was blown up both deployments," said Johnson.
Johnson recalls one of his squadmates who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It was a dog named Iris.
"Iris in 2018. I was blown up with a grenade, and she was killed. The grenade went off about six feet behind me, but Iris saw it, and she jumped on the grenade, thinking it was a ball. She saved everybody's life," Johnson recalled.
In 2019, with his second chance at life, Johnson returned to Afghanistan. He came under under attack again. An explosion left him with a traumatic brain injury. He had to be sent to Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment.
"I'm processed into a TBI [Traumatic Brain Injury] clinic. I was a fall risk, too. I'd get out of bed and an alarm would go off. It was just demoralizing. They don't know how brain injuries work with people," said Johnson.
That was until the Sempre Fi & America's Fund stepped in.
"The fund's like 'hey, we got you.' So once you're assigned a case manager, it's your case manager, and it's a lifetime organization, so it's not a one and done," Johnson said.
Johnson told 12News the fund gave him the resources he needed to make a smooth transition to civilian life and now, he's determined to use his dream to give back.
"At the end of every year we pick an organization that helped me out while I was hurt. This past year we chose the fund. And so everything we pick off, you pick, is donated straight to the fund," said Johnson.
One weekend every May, Johnson invites the community out to pick blueberries at his farm. He plans to share the proceeds with Sempre Fi & America's Fund.
"Y'all come pick what you want!" Johnson said.
Johnson is a war hero from Southeast Texas who is working hard to pay it forward.
For the 13th consecutive year, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation and Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) will partner with Semper Fi & America’s Fund in the Double Down for Veterans Match Campaign.
Through the end of the year, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, with support from PXG, will match every donation made to the fund dollar-for-dollar up to $10 million.