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| Johnny Cash radio intercept officer |
In 1936, the family was chosen by the Federal Government to reclaim land by the Mississippi River, known as the Dyess Colony Scheme. Much of it was swampland, and in 1937, they were evacuated when the river had over flown. The Cash family's financial struggles inspired many of Johnny's songs, including "Five Feet High and Rising" which depicted the tale of the flood on his family's farm.1 Sadly, his older brother Jack died in a tragic accident while working a table saw in 1944. Cash suffered tremendous guilt after the incident. Cash began work in a automobile factory in Pontiac, Michigan, after graduating Dyess High School. Soon after, he signed up for the United States Air Force.
This was the reason Cash adopted the new name John; the army would not let him sign on with initials as his name. He was assigned to go to Landsberg, Germany as a radio intercept officer, spying on Russian radio traffic.2 Cash taught himself the guitar while stationed in Germany and played in a bar band called the Landsberg Barbarians. Once his enlisted period was completed, Sergeant John Cash was honorably discharged in July 1954. He returned to the US where he moved to Memphis, Tennessee with Vivian Liberto, his new bride. One of their four children, Rosanne Cash, also became a country singer.
While trying to break into the music business, and to provide for his family, John Cash worked a variety of jobs to care for his family. Cash found the courage to audition at the Memphis based Sun Studio. Owner, Sam Phillips, told him to return with something more commercial. Cash worked on his music.
