Johnny Cash and the death of Joseph Stalin
Born J.R Cash and known for his song Ring of Fire that was written by his wife June Carter, Johnny Cash was the first American to hear about the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. How was this possible? He worked as a radio operator for the US Airforce Security Service from 1950 to 1954 in Germany. On 5 March 1953, Cash intercepted a very important message from the Soviets about Stalin's poorly condition. While transcribing the Soviet Morse code, it became clear that Stalin was dead and he, Sgt Staff Johnny Cash had become the first American to receive the news. Immediately he reported the news to his supervisors and only mentioned this crowning moment years after his service ended.
The intended receiver of this fact card
My uncle John Scully (1946-2020) (photo used with blessing from his widow
When I started making my fact cards, I had two uncles. Now that I am writing this, there is just one uncle left. The uncle that I lost since making this fact card was my uncle John Scully, twin brother to locally known photographer Michael Scully. John had an autopart shop in Athy called Athy Motor Factors and did some photography in his spare time. In the mid-late 2010s, my uncle John was diagnosed with Alzheimer's-Dementia and on one of the last occasion I saw him, I told him about Johnny Cash being the first American to learn about the death of Joseph Stalin and that I would make a fact card on the subject. However, John had a stroke and he went into a care home that was off limits to physical person to person visits due to the COVID-19 Pandemic but we were offered some virtual visits until restrictions lifted (some politicians notwithstanding). Sadly, the day that he had the stroke was the day I started making the fact card and the COVID restrictions in the care home he was in took the remaining energy he had left away to the point that he didn't recognise his widow Ann (who gave me permission to use the photo that accompanies this bit of behind the scenes trivia) because of how the Alzheimer's-Dementia deteriorated his lovely mind. John ended up dying on 2nd September 2020 and on account of aforementioned restrictions, his funeral was only open to immediate family and those watching on the Portlaoise Parish webcam. Since we never got to show him the fact card, we ended up placing it in his coffin before he was buried in Oakvale Cemetery in Stradbally. I'm sure he would've loved the fact card I made on Johnny Cash and some day I hope to make a few more fact cards on country music and bluegrass legends (since he also was a regular goer to some bluegrass festivals like the one in Athy and even had the Randy Travis song "I'm going to love you forever played at the end of his funeral since it was a song he had sang to his children with Ann when they were little. I bit a bit emotional listing to that song now because of that September day and I watched the service on the webcam since I couldn't bear seeing my aunt, my godmother and my cousins crying over my uncle dying. At least, wherever he is now, he is happy and healthy again with his brother Owen and his parents watching over his family and he is probably chatting to Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette as I write this.