Vietnam Vet Gunned Down in 'War' at Home

An 84-year-old man who was drafted and fought on the front lines of the Vietnam War was gunned down last week in another war on the home front.

Despite his family’s instance after his home on Woodlawn Street on Detroit’s east side was targeted in a rash of burglaries, Lovell Johnson refused to budge from his home of 60 years. On Oct. 9, he was found dead in his bedroom. He had been shot, just as daughter, LaDell Johnson, feared.

“He didn’t want to leave,” LaDell Johnson, told WDIV, Channel 4. “You know how they get up in age and they don’t want to leave their house?”

Lovell Johnson was a fixture around the neighborhood. The retired autoworker, known as “Chief,” was a father figure to many, doling out advice from his front porch, said neighbor Christina Joy.

He was generous not only with his time, but also his money.

“... My dad was a giving, caring person,” LaDell Johnson told WJBK, Channel 2. “You could come to him and ask for anything and he would give it to you.”

Truth be told, he gave without being asked.

Lisa Jones told WJBK that after Johnson won a small lottery prize at a party store, he shared some of it with her cousin. When the cousin asked why he did that, Johnson reportedly said, “Because. Just because.”

“That man didn’t deserve that,” another neighbor, Danielle Cole, said. “He would’ve gave you his last, for real.”

The home invasions and murder have put neighbors on edge.

“If I can see my way out of here, I’m gone,” said Nina Green, who has lived across the street from Johnson for 60 years and whose husband found Johnson’s body.

“I’m a nervous wreck,” Green said. “Because we don’t know who did this, was this someone in the neighborhood? Are they capable of coming back? We’re senior citizens and I don’t have anything to protect myself, and my husband.”

LaDell Johnson and her step-sister, Regina Harvey, want the person responsible caught and convicted.

“I want the person who did it to get caught,” Harvey said. “Turn yourself in. He’s an old man, 84 years old.”

“I pray that the person who did it doesn’t have any peace,” LaDell Johnson said. “That the Lord deals with their heart in the way that they can’t sleep, they can’t eat.”

Detroit police want the community’s help to track down the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call (313) 596-2313 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.