Becoming a father

In an interview with Ray Bradley, he talks about how he met Johnny's mom, and how he felt when he learned he was going to become a father.

"A bunch of us kids from the neighborhood all walked to school together," Ray said. "One of my best friends was staying on her street, we just got to talking and got together."

"We were around 14 and 15 when we started dating," Ray said. "Just before I went into the army after we graduated, she was pregnant with Johnny."

The thought of being a father was something Ray had yet thought of.

"It was difficult," Ray said. "I was scared. Not excited, scared is the word. Being a father. I knew life was going to be totally different. I knew it wasn't going to be about me anymore."

Ray was in Germany when Johnny was born. When he came home on a 30-day leave, he was finally able to meet his "little young man."

"It was a beautiful thing," he said. "I was 18 at this point. I came back home a year and a half later. I couldn't concentrate on that at the time [being a father] we were at war. I couldn't concentrate on home."

Upon Ray's more permanent arrival home, Johnny was now two-and-a-half years old.

"He was a very inquisitive guy. He loved cars, which he got from me," Ray said.