Two soldiers memorialized with Army Reserve

By Sgt. 1st Class Andy YoshimuraAugust 1, 2012

Two soldiers memorialized with Army Reserve
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Alton Berry, commanding general of the 88th Regional Support Command (center), cuts the ribbon signifying the opening of both the Maj. Alan Johnson Maintenance Facility and the Sgt. Ross Clevenger Armed Forces Reserve Center. Berry is assi... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Two soldiers memorialized with Army Reserve
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Two soldiers memorialized with Army Reserve
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Victoria Johnson, wife of Maj. Alan Johnson, views the plaque in memory of her husband that will be placed at the Maj. Alan Johnson Maintenance Facility in Yakima, Wash. Johnson was killed by a roadside explosion in Iraq, Jan. 26, 2007. Johnson serve... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Two soldiers memorialized with Army Reserve
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Two soldiers memorialized with Army Reserve
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YAKIMA, Wash. - The Army Reserve opened its newest facilities in the remote town of Yakima, Wash., July 29. Located in the heart of apple country, and where 75 percent of hops are grown in the nation, the newly built buildings on the Yakima Training Center both have similar rustic brick finishes topped with red roofs. They house more than 400 soldiers from both the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. For Victoria Johnson and Loren Clevenger these are more than just buildings, they are reminders of loved ones that they lost in Iraq.

Hosted by the Brig. Gen. Alton G. Berry, commanding general of the 88th Regional Support Command, The Sergeant Ross A. Clevenger Armed Forces Reserve Center and the Alan R. Johnson Maintenance Facility were both memorialized with a time honored military ceremony. soldiers and Family members attended remembering Sgt. Clevenger and Maj. Johnson who both gave their lives in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"This cements the fact that he will not be forgotten for his sacrifices," said Victoria, who lost her husband, Jan. 26, 2007. Maj. Johnson served as a civil affairs officer with the 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion in Iraq. Johnson, 44, died from wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee in the town of Muqdadiyah. Johnson served with both the North Dakota National Guard and the Army Reserve and was commissioned after being an enlisted soldier first. "He never gave up being a soldier. He would be out there at the wash racks and performing maintenance on vehicles with his soldiers," added Victoria.

The Alan R. Johnson Maintenance Facility houses a multiple-bay area for training, maintenance and administrative support. Victoria said that when they were looking for someone to name the facility after, they looked for a soldier who never gave up and had a win-win attitude. "My husband always gave it a 100 percent."

Located next to the maintenance facility is the Sergeant Ross A. Clevenger Armed Forces Reserve Center named after the combat engineer who lost his life after his route clearing vehicle was hit by an explosive attack in Iraq's Anbar province just west of Baghdad in February of 2007.

"We always knew that Ross did great things," said Loren Clevenger, father of Sgt. Clevenger. "He always liked to make people happy." Clevenger served with the Army Reserve