Kevin Johnson named Jefferson County December Veteran of the Month

FAIRBURY – Jefferson County native and longtime Fairbury resident Kevin Johnson was celebrated as the Jefferson County Veteran of the Month for December 2024 on Tuesday morning in Fairbury.   

Born in Thompson in 1962, Johnson graduated from Fairbury High School in 1980, played on the football team during the week while working for his father’s construction company on the weekends.  

After marrying his wife Lori, who was there with him for Tuesday’s ceremony, later that year, Kevin voluntarily joined the U.S. Army in 1984, spending time in Alabama, South Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. There, a chance encounter helped lead the former army mechanic to a role with an “Equestrian Ceremonial Unit,” where he was part of a crew of less than a dozen soldiers who carried flags on horseback at ceremonies and events – including when his crew carried the Olympic Torch in Oklahoma in 1987 and appeared in President George H. W. Bush’s inaugural parade in 1989.  

Johnson left the Army later that year after more than five years of service. He and Lori returned to Fairbury a few years later and have lived here ever since.