He Knew

Chapter 1

In the Beginning

Milton was born at Fort Benning, Georgia. He moved to Killeen in 1965 when his dad, who was in the army, was transferred from Chicago to Fort Hood, Texas, one of the largest military bases in the free world . He was the middle of three kids. He had an older brother and a younger sister. They were not a religious or very close family. Milton would spend all day away from the house, exploring wooded areas and getting into trouble. Nothing serious, just typical kid stuff. Home was not a happy place for him. His dad was often away, and when he was home, he and Milton’s mom would fight. Their move coincided with Milton’s second year in first grade. At that time, they weren’t sure what was causing his inability to read. It was only years later that he was diagnosed with dyslexia, a reading disorder that little was known about in 1965.

As a young child, Johnny lived in California, Colorado, Alabama, and Utah. Johnny’s father had been born in Austin and still had a lot of family in the area. In 1971, when the military offered his dad the chance to move closer to family, he took it and headed to Fort Hood. Johnny was the oldest of four kids. He had a younger brother and two sisters.

In sixth grade at Clifton Park Elementary, Johnny and Milton met. The two soon teamed up to cause all kinds of mischief. One of Milton’s earliest memories is a day during recess when they were playing bumpers, a game in which they would run up and pinch girls on the butt and run away. One of Johnny’s is a day after lunch when their teacher was reading to the class. He and Milton sat in the back of the room about five seats apart. At that time, classrooms had blackboards in the front and back of the rooms. They started tossing blackboard erasers at each other. All was going great until the teacher happened to catch them both in middle of a throw. That game got them sent to Mr. Clifton, the principal, and on the receiving end of a paddle. And as Johnny would say, it was his first experience with corporal punishment—but not his last! Johnny remembers Milton always with a smile on his face and being very popular with the girls, even in elementary school. Milton, of course, smiled to hide the chaos that was going on at home. School was an escape for him, even though he often struggled.

During middle school, they went their separate ways—Milton to Manor Middle School and Johnny to Nolan Middle School. They each found different interests. Milton played a lot of sports, and Johnny joined band. It wasn’t until tenth grade when they were at Killeen High School that they hooked back up. They had several mutual friends and would often spend weekends together with their gang of friends, playing poker and chasing girls.

Once they graduated from high school, they found themselves working summer jobs across the street from each other. Johnny worked at a pawnshop, and Milton was at a sporting goods store. Their friendship grew into a close one and has remained that way to this day. They would often get together on weekends to cruise the town and look for girls.

Johnny later went off to Texas A&M, and Milton stayed home to attend the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in nearby Belton. During that time his parents divorced. He found himself taking care of his mom, who had been in poor health for years. Milton would go to school and then to work at the sporting goods store each day, leaving little time for play. Due to his dyslexia, school wasn’t easy for him, but he was determined to be the first in his family with a college degree. So through hard work, he often made the dean’s list. He always felt it the coaches in high school who kept him out of trouble and became parent figures for him, and he wanted to pay it forward and become a teacher-coach as well. He earned his degree in education from UMHB and got a job as a science teacher and a coach at Smith Middle School with the Killeen Independent School District.

During new-teacher orientation, he met a young lady who would have a dramatic effect on him.