Marine from Vermont killed in plane crash was ‘gentle person’ who ‘loved the outdoors’

U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Brendan Johnson, in 2016.

Gunnery Sgt. Brendan Johnson thought he had the best job in the Marine Corps, according to his father.

His first role when he joined the Marines in 1994 was loadmaster, the person responsible for handling plane cargo and performing weight calculations, the Burlington Free Press reported. He continued to fly for the next 23 years, and his work took him around the world.

“He loved the outdoors and he loved flying with the Marine Corps,” his father, Kevin Johnson, told the newspaper.

Johnson, a 46-year-old Vermont native who lived in New York, was one of 16 U.S. servicemen killed in a plane crash on Monday. The servicemen were en route to California when the KC-130 crashed into a field in Mississippi, most likely due to a problem at cruising altitude, officials have said.

Raised in Colchester, Johnson was interested in the outdoors from a young age, his father said.

“He was a Boy Scout,” he told the Free Press. “He liked camping and being out in the woods.”

Johnson earned a fine arts degree at Johnson State College in Vermont before he joined the Marines. He had entered college studying biology, but switched fields with the encouragement of a professor. According to the Associated Press, one year he surprised his family with paintings of his grandfather and father-in-law, both of whom served in the Navy.

His father told the Free Press Johnson loved that his job allowed him to travel. When possible, he enjoyed exploring museums and seeing architecture.

“I get to fly everywhere,” Kevin Johnson recalled his son saying, according to the AP.

Johnson’s father also described his son as a family man. Johnson met and married his wife, Anna, in Fort Worth, Texas just after 9/11, the AP reported. The couple did not have an official ceremony, but last fall they renewed their vows in Montana with family present. Though Johnson and his wife did not have kids, his father told WCAX that he loved children. The couple often invited other families to spend the holidays with them in their home.

“He had a great sense of humor,” his father told the news station. “He was very kind to people.”

Johnson was planning to retire from the Marine Corps next year, according to his father. Marine Corps records state that in his 23 years of service he had received 32 awards.

The Free Press reported that after leaving the armed forces Johnson had hoped to move to Montana, where his wife’s from. There, he had planned to continue working outdoors, possibly as a park ranger or game warden.

“He was a very gentle person,” his father told WCAX.