When John King Jr. and his wife Delilah found out they were expecting a baby in early 2013, deciding on a name for the child was a simple task.

“We knew if we were going to have a boy we would name it Jemison,” John King Jr. said. “Jemison is the town I grew up in and I wanted to give that name to my child.”

On Nov. 21, 2013, Jemison Joe King was born and given the name after the city in Chilton County that John considers home.

John, 41, graduated from Jemison High School in 1991 and joined the United States Air Force in 1993 where he traveled to numerous places such as Japan, Colorado, Nebraska, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Due to his extensive traveling, John decided that if he ever had a son he would give the child the name after his hometown.

“After traveling to so many places it is hard to feel like you are home,” John said. “I have always viewed Jemison as my home so I knew if I ever had a son that is what I would name him.”

If the couple gave birth to a girl, John King Jr. said she would have been given the name “Jemma.”

Jemison’s grandfather, who is also named John King, said he thought it was neat to have a grandson named after the city where he lives.

“It meant a lot to me to not only have him named Jemison, but he was born on my birthday,” John King said.

After serving in the Air Force for more than 20 years, John King Jr. received the Bronze Star Medal, and retired in 2013.

John King Jr., Delilah and Jemison now live in Panama City, Fla. where they run a Kona Ice business.

“When I retired from the military I wanted to move home but the closest place I could get was Florida,” John King Jr. said. “Now we are only four hours away from home so we can return to Jemison as much as we want and bring our baby Jemison to the city he was named after.”