just one hour prior to virgil's death, johnny robinson joined a group of young boys at a local gas station. johnny was born on february 25, 1947, to martha and johnny robinson sr. his younger brother, leon, described him as a kid who loved playing baseball and basketball. ironically, his favorite subject was history. even at the tender age of 16 he snood that he and his -- understood that he and his siblings were living in an historic era. the afternoon that johnny went to the gas station tensions remained high as local citizens were still reeling from the news of the church bombing and the death of the four little girls. according to accounts that were published in the birmingham news article, johnny and the other young boys were being taunted by white teenagers with chants of opposing integration. there was also reports of rocks being thrown in retaliation. and hours after the bombing in the midst of all the chaos, johnny was killed by a police officer. some of our nation's biggest heroes are those that fought on the front lines in pursuit of equality and justice. however, young virgil a

nick cunningham, justin olsen, johnny quinn and dallas robinson will all compete in the same four-manor stopping by. great having you here. nick, does it ever get old walking in the opening ceremony? >> no. that's definitely what keeps us coming back, knowing that we all have one name on our back, and it's usa, and it's the pride and the sacrifice that goes into it. you know, we're all happy to definitely be here. >> justin, you raced in 2010, got a gold medal in vancouver. what are your expectations here? >> nothing's changed. the game plan's the same. just a different set of guys here. so you know, we're after the medals, and let it be known. >> okay. a nonsledding question for johnny. you tweeted a picture out this morning. you had to bust out of your shower. explain that one. >> well, it was an unfortunate situation, but i got out safely. you know, could have happened to anyone. the nice thing is that the venue here has been phenomenal. the russians have done a great job with the venue. and so, unfortunately, though, it was -- i got locked in this morning. >> yeah, that's a great

johnny carson, who was the greatest guy to ever do this job. he said, i bid you all a heartfe heartfelt. >> welcome back to "morning joe." jim vandehei, john meacham, gene robinsonve the moderator from "meet the press" david gregory. in chicago senior adviser from institute of politics and msnbc contributor david axelrod all along with joe and me. >> you know -- >> yes. >> lets talk about jay leno for a second. there's a guy who had a lot of negative press through the years. the other late night comics loved punching that guy all the time, but he went out where he has been for 20 years now, on top, number one, the undisputed champ of late night television. he didn't always get the respect that, say, david letterman and others got. but man, if you want -- johnny carson believed because he was a central time zone guy as well as i think it was dick ebersol that said you win the ratings wars in the central time zone. and you know, that's where leno and carson and a lot of the great late night hosts won it, not in new york or l.a. but middle america. leno deserves respect. number one with a bullet for years. >> looked like a great show last night. we've got a great g