Family of dead National Guardsman urges Legislature to make death benefits bill named for him retroactive

Jo Ann Johnson sits for a portrait with a photo of her grandson, Bishop Evans, in her home in Arlington, TX on Dec. 7, 2022. 22-year-old Bishop Evans, who was serving on the Texas Army National Guard and assigned to work on Operation Lone Star, died after jumping into the Rio Grande to save two migrants. “When they told me why, I understood, because he saw someone who needed help. That was who he was — he helped people.” (Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune)

This article is co-published and co-reported with Military Times, an independent news organization reporting on issues important to the U.S. military. Sign up for its daily Early Bird Brief newsletter here.

The death of Bishop Evans, the Texas National Guard member who died last year while serving on Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission, inspired legislation to ensure future guard members who die in the line of duty are guaranteed $500,000 in death benefits for their survivors.