Felix Johnson will never forget what he told his son Spc. Nathaniel Johnson and his friends shortly before they left for Fallujah, Iraq, in September 2003.

"I told them, 'A hero's just a sandwich, so don't try to go over there being a hero,' " Mr. Johnson said, chuckling at the memory. "I told them just to watch each other's back."

That's just what his son did.

Friends told Mr. Johnson and his wife, Phyllis, about their son's leadership and his ability to make them better at their job of repairing Black Hawk helicopters.

"They told us he was truly the best at his profession," Mrs. Johnson said.

On Jan. 8, 2004, Spc. Johnson, 22, took a ride on one of the helicopters he often repaired. He was going to have a broken ankle checked on by a doctor in Baghdad. Before he reached his destination, the helicopter was shot down. He died instantly.

When the Army sent officers to tell the family, Mrs. Johnson said she had trouble believing it.

"I thought the casualty officers were recruiters. I thought, 'They know Nathaniel's already in the Army,' " she said. "It was just indescribable what I felt. It was hard to believe."

Three years earlier, Spc. Johnson and his family were celebrating his enlistment. He had waited only four days after his graduation from Glenn Hills High School in 2001 to join, Mr. Johnson said. Out of town on business, Mr. Johnson, who was then an active-duty sergeant in the Army, wanted his son to wait until he got home before enlisting.

"He didn't wait. He told me he wanted to do it on his own," Mr. Johnson said.

The strong-willed teen got into the Navy JROTC program at Glenn Hills.

"He really started taking it seriously about 10th grade," Mr. Johnson said. "He really enjoyed it."

Spc. Johnson took a special interest in repairing things around the house, which would lead to his becoming an electronics avionics technician, his mom said.

"He thought if he had a screwdriver he could fix anything," Mrs. Johnson said.

He took his service very seriously, so much so that it seemed he knew his last days would be spent on his tour of duty, Mrs. Johnson said.

"I think he knew what he was facing," she said. "There was a calm he had about it. There was never a 'when I come home' or 'when I get back.' "

Since his death, his parents have found some comfort in knowing that others honor his service. Glenn Hills High School awards a top cadet with the Nathaniel H. Johnson Award each year. A recreational building was dedicated to him at Fort Bragg, N.C., last year.

"Sometimes I think I won't have grandchildren. I'll never have a daughter-in-law," Mrs. Johnson said. "But I know it was a God thing. He served his purpose. I know he would be proud."