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John Quinlan
Read and share stories of John - last comment 13 Jun 2010
Other updates and comments - last comment 19 Feb 2009
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In Lieu of Flowers...A Memorial Education Fund
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John Quinlan
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Stories
- U.S. Army Biographical Sketch
- Story from Asbury Park Press (1 May)
- Story from The Coaster (15 Mar)
- Story from Asbury Park Press (12 Mar)
- Story from The Coaster (8 Mar)
- Story on John's co-pilot
- Story from Military Times
- Story from Maryland Newsline
- Story from The Coast Star (1 Mar)
- Obituary from Asbury Park Press
- Story from The Coast Star (22 Feb)
- Video from WTVF - Nashville
- Video from WKRN - Nashville
- Story from Asbury Park Press
- Story from Baltimore Sun
- Story from WBAL - Baltimore
- Story from Clarksville, TN paper
- Story from USA Today
24 comments:
I'll start off by sharing a memory from a sunny Jersey Shore summer day. I was visiting everyone in Bradley Beach during some time I had off from college. John took me out in his white truck and we just cruised up and down Ocean Avenue for hours with the sun beating down, the breeze blowing by us, and the rock music cranking out of the speakers. John turned up Jane's Addiction so loud I thought they could hear us coming between Asbury and Belmar.
I have so many memories of John going back to the summer of '87.. But my most recent memories are him and Eric and my Dad sitting in our kitchen back in the fall of '03 talking about Korea as John had just done a tour there and my dad was still stationed over there.. And then there was the summer of '04 when John, Julie, Eric and I went to Kelly's for a night out.. And of course there will always be the infamous "Action Park Cup" stories... *grin*
To the dear family and friends of John,
It has now been several days since we were given the tragic news of John's passing and the pain and grief is still fresh for us. We are long-time friends of John & Linda Mocko and family, and although can't share the wonderful stories about John, we had the pleasure to be invited to a party in his honor on 12/31/06. I will never forget John that day. He was so interested in talking to everyone, laughing and joking and so REAL. We got to meet his sweet wife, Julie and their lovely daughters, Keely, Maddy and Erin. We had seen photos of them but nothing prepared us for seeing that lovely family together. We can only imagine all the hundreds of lives that John touched in his much-to-short life.
On a personal note John shares my father's (Lillian's) birthday. My dad was a decorated war hero and was depicted in the movie "Anzio". I believe with all my heart that my dad was waiting for John to let him know that he is and always will be an AMERICAN HERO, and we all should be grateful for the dedication and strength he had--even at his last moments. John is what our country stands for--loyalty, bravery and sacrifice.
We believe that we will be welcomed at the gates of Heaven by John someday, and John is now resting in the loving arms of our Lord, where there is no more tears, pain, anxiety or sorrow. We must NEVER FORGET John--the bright, shining star and the sunshine of so many lives.
Our deepest sympathies are with Bob and Kate, Susan and Family, all his aunts and uncles, cousins, and especially his Grandmother who will need much comforting also.
If we missed someone in our condolences, please forgive us. Linda and John introduced us to a lovely family and for that we are forever grateful.
Sleep well, John A. Quinlan--you will always be in our hearts.
Bob and Lillian Padavano
Waretown (formerly Madison), NJ
I was stationed with "Q" in Cherry Point, NC, but didn't really get to know him until we were sent with many other Marines from our command aboard the USS Nassau for Operation Desert Shield/Storm. One of the things I will always remember about John was his smile. In spite of the "lovely" accommodations we had John always remained upbeat. John regaled us often about “the shore” and how much fun he had there with his family. We didn’t get much liberty, but when we did it was always nice to know that a big Irish lad like John had your back. This is a man that could be counted on when you needed him. This is a man that you could call brother through blood, or association. I will always remember John’s smile, but “Q” will always be a Marine brother to me.
Sean
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. THANK GOD that we were together in Madison with Susan and Kate when the news came. He will be missed by all who knew him, he was tall and red headed, a not to be missed young man of 36. We got to see him and his family on New Year's Eve day at a gathering called - Love Freedom? - Thank the Armed Forces and JAQ. He was so surprised and thrilled to be with his family and 10 of his 13 cousins were there at the party.
My favorite story about John is….well there really are three! 1977 - We went to Avon on a Saturday in late August intending to go on a family camping trip to Cape May with our blue VW bus and our pop-up camper. David was 8 and Steven was 6 and Bryan was six months old. (What was I thinking???) Anyway, Bob, Kate, John (7) & Susan (4) were in Avon finishing up a week’s vacation. We both were leaving on Sunday, the Mocko’s to start their week long vacation and my brother’s family was going back to Delaware. Well, it didn’t take long for our boys to ask if John and Susan could come along with us. Five kids in a pop-up with nothing inside except two beds! No way, John D. & I decided, after all, Bryan was a baby, we were camping, cooking over a propane stove, this was basic camping. Well, off we went on Sunday, 2 adults and 5 children. We had the best week ever, the kids were wonderful, everyone did their camp chores, we roasted marshmallows, made s’mores and went to the beach and pool every day. The most vivid memory is when we blew up the blue boat; put the 4 kids in it & jumped the waves at Cape May beach. Bryan was sleeping under an umbrella on the beach. (DYFYS would charge us today with abandonment!). We had such fun! The water was rough from a storm, the water was August warm and the weather was picture perfect. See the photo on the web page of John D., Steve & John.
The second memory is of getting a phone call from Kate. Steven was sleeping over and John woke up with the chicken pox! Two weeks later, David got the chicken pox and two weeks later, Bryan got the chicken pox. Thanks John Q. for a long hot itchy summer! No photos are available of those six weeks!
The third memory that I will always treasure is visiting Julie, Keely, Maddie & Erin on John D. & Linda’s 2005 road trip. We stopped on a Saturday morning about noon and left at 8 o’clock. We took everyone to the girl’s favorite restaurant in Clarksville, the Chinese Buffet. Erin saw John D. and said “Ho Ho!!” His beard made him look like Santa. All day it was “Ho Ho – push me on the swing – Ho Ho look at this – John D. LOVED it. Keely, Maddie, Julie and a neighbor Bridget scrapbooked a 7 x 7 album of everything that John loved…..his wife, his children, his parents, his sister, his family, his country, his Marines, his Army, his helicopter, etc. Julie found wonderful photos for the book and we spent such a wonderful time together. See photo soon of the scrapbooking time. – (J.J. will e-mail you today)
Everyone has been so wonderful, family, neighbors and friends of Bob and Kate as well as the family, friends & neighbors of the Mocko’s.
Bob asked me on Sunday night how he was going to get through that day. I replied - one breath at a time. For once, I’m taking my own advice and getting through each day - one breath at a time.
Susan, his sister, sent an e-mail last year, about a serviceman coming home with an escort. In it, she asked that everyone to wear red, white and blue on Fridays in honor of our men and women who allow us to live with the freedoms we have. I think now we should all wear red, white and blue on Sundays in honor of John Andrew Quinlan.
With much love to all – Aunt Linda Quinlan Mocko
I had the fortune to meet, work, party hard with, live with, share a drunk nighttime ride on my Suzuki VX-800 in Morehead City, with John beginning in 1990 in MALS-32 at MCAS Cherry Point with all of the rest of the crazies, Strick (Guy Stricker), V (Vilchis), Pitruziak (sorry for the spelling Pablo), Marty (Kirt Martel), Whizzer (Dan Whisnant), Dan (Simple Man) Smiley …all of us working for that great guy SSGT. Doug Ritchie…..man what a show and what a shop, at the center of the storm was this big, HUGE, funny, red-headed Irish Mick, Johnny Q, aka John Quinlan.
I can call Johnny Q. a “Mick” ‘cause we had an absolute bond because of our shared Irish heritage, the Kelley’s and the Quinlan’s. Everyone called him John, our brothers called him Q, and this brother called him Johnny. I love Johnny Q., he meant so very much to Christine and I…from teachin Q everything I could about working on the 126B, and man, that dude picked it right up and took as much junk as I could dish out to him, tryin’ to drill him on USMC knowledge for all of the meritorious promo Boards, to goin’ to school and living with him at NAS Oceana for ALR-67 school, runnin’ back to our honeys, Christine and Julie, every freakin’ weekend we could get back to Cherry Point, which was pretty much every weekend, to having John as THE man to stand in and participate as a good Catholic for my first daughter, Meagan, during Meagan’s baptism at Cherry Point, this man…..this brother…..this wonderful caring Daddy, this loving husband, this soccer coach, this man of faith, this hard chargin’ Devil Dawg, and this AMERICAN HERO, will be missed so very, very much by my family and his family now and forever, I am forever grateful to have had John in my life for 17 years.
Christine and I had the privilege of watching John and Julie get married, and what a wonderful marriage it has turned out to be, what love they shared, what amazing girls…..the Quinlan girls. We shared many, many things in common, and the most special shared trait was the love we have for our girls. Johnny and I would be absolutely incredulous and laugh our butts off that we both wound up with three amazing daughters, and wives that are unbelievable in their ability to have put up with our stunts, and our career moves. We would laugh about it because I guess we CDI’d too much gear together that all of the ‘trons got to our swimmers, and made it so all we would ever have was daughters with our wives. We talked about sending our girls to Catholic school too, me being the militant Irish Protestant (back then) and Johnny as the good Irish Catholic, but how it was the right thing for my girls, Meagan, Alissa, Heather, and Johnny’s trio, Keely, Maddie, and someday, hopefully Erin too. No Fly Zone skirt is a term that I will now use with a vengeance, because of Johnny.
Seeing John on Nightline, this big clown mustached Army dog, answering a reporter’s questions with the absolute most serious face, to people that didn’t know him, but I could see the twinkle in his eyes and the laughter behind the mask that said…..”you’re kidding right, what kind of a simple minded question was that?” , I could go on and on with more and more about my Marine brother John Quinlan, but I need to close with these thoughts.
I grieve for my brother, and his girls, all four of them, my family grieves for John, but the Kelley’s will always have a place in our hearts and in our home for Julie, Keely, Madeline, and Erin, along with any possible help we will give John’s girls, all of them, always, without hesitation and without question. Julie, Mr. & Mrs. Quinlan, and Susan……John was a gift from God, I am so proud to call him my friend and my brother, I will never forget him, he will live in my heart and mind forever, I will never forget him, and I will never forget you and the girls Julie, count on it.
Semper Fidelis, Scott Kelley
I wanted to start off by sharing a classic John story. Aunt Kate would remember this one.
I was visiting John one summer in Bradley Beach and we went to a house party in Ocean Grove on a Saturday night in his white Toyota truck (I'm sure everyone remembers it). Of course before we got to the party we had to load up on beer! At the party, we had lots of laughs and told lots of stories and some beer before driving back to his house @ 11pm. Aunt Kate made sure John drove home before then.
As John and I walked quietly through the back door, Aunt Kate was waiting for us in the kitchen to ask us how the party went. John tried to convince her that we needed to go to another party to bring the rest of the beer to but Aunt Kate smelled beer on our breaths and told us that driving was out of the question. We also tried the angle that it started to rain pretty hard and that we would get all wet so we needed to take John’s truck but it didn’t work.
John finally convinced her that if we rode a couple of BMX bikes while wearing garbage bags with holes cut out for eyes and mouth and carrying the beer on the handle bars that it would be OK to go to the party. How can you argue with that logic? Even Aunt Kate got a chuckle out of two idiots riding in the rain with beer dressed in garbage bags. I am not sure if I ever had more fun than that night.
We love you always and forever John, Julie, Keely, Maddy and Erin. I think that we are all truly blessed to have had the opportunity to have John walk into our lives. If you did not know John, you missed a one in a million. He will always be loved, and never forgotten! NSDQ!!!
The Quinlan Family will always hold a very special place in my family's heart. One memory that comes to mind is of the days leading up to their purchase of the home across the street from us. They visited the house in Clarksville several times before buying it and moving in and every time they came to see it, they were greeted by a small contingent of our children. I was so afraid that our six children would scare away any nice family from buying the house, but as luck would have it, John and Julie were tougher than most. Our three girls bonded tightly with their three girls and together with Katie and Natalie they formed what John called the "Girl Gang of Renfro Court". Another memory is of a hot muggy TN day when my fifth child was learning to ride a bike. There was John running behind her keeping her steady the whole way. At one point he turned to me with a very serious look and said, "If I'm taking a memory away from Chris of teaching his daughter to ride a bike, just say so." He was so serious, it just made me smile. I assured him that with six kids, Chris was OK with sitting out of a few memories. We both laughed and he got the job done. The last memory I'll mention is of a very homely 6'4" woman in a flowered housecoat with curlers in her hair and fuzzy slippers showing up on Halloween at St. Mary's Catholic School. If it hadn't been for the bushy mustache, he could have pulled off the whole outfit. Keely was horrified, but not for long! John was the hit of the lunch room and loved by all.
John you were larger than life and taken from us much too soon. We are better for having known you.
From Barbara and Steve Johnson - Montgomery Alabama:
Our memories of John bring a smile to our faces. His love for his wife and children showed in his eyes. He was patient and loving with his children and devoted to his wife. He was a wonderful friend to my son Mitch and helped him through a trying time in his life. I loved when he visited us because he seemed to bring happines and a bright smile to our home. John is my idea of a wonderful father, husband, son and a true patriot. I cried for him and prayed for GOD to bring peace to his family and his soul to heaven. He was a warrier for his country and we wil never forget him.
Our family spent a dozen or so summers at a house on East End Ave in Avon, just 2 doors up from Mary Quinlan. My two older boys "rode" with John in the constant search for ever higher and more dangerous jumps with their dirt bikes. I remember well sitting on our poarch as John turned his bike into our street on his regular visits to Grandma and Uncle Richie, though it was only a short block John did tricks and jumps with his bike all the way up the street and took 15 minutes to make the trip.We did not have the pleasure of knowing the adult John, but John will remain forever a part of the soft and sweet memories of our families summers in Avon.Both my wife and I cried when we were shown the picture in the Press, our families thoughts,prayers and tears are added to all the others who knew and loved John.May God bless Kate, Bob and Susan...it was an honor to know your son and brother.
The Donofrio Family
I have so many memories of Q duing our times at Mals-32 in Cherry Point, and Q and I and Greg Adams hanging out together when we were in Desert Storm. The one thing that I remember more than anything is that I always had a great time hanging out with Q and the rest of our crew(V,Chad, Dearza,Hoffman,Scott.K,Martel,and the rest)We were more like brothers than anything, and I will never forget those times.Q was always a blast to hang out with, and I'll never forget that little toyota 4x4 with the crazy loud stereo. Q you were a great Marine, a great friend,and I'll never forget you. Semper Fi big man.
Strick
I met John in the surf off of Avon and Bradley. He was out there riding waves on like a 10 to 12 foot board, walking up and down it making wrestling poses. From that time til he was in the service we had a lot of good times as Mom Q could testify:-).
One memory of John that stands out is a camping trip that my father took us on to Assupink Park in South Jersey. John, Toby, My father and myself went down with an old 61 Willys Jeep that could pull a house down. We rode that Jeep all over the park, mostly off the trails there. At night we were fishing in the lake there and there was an animal moving around in the water about 50 to 75 feet out. It was dark at this point so we had just the flashlight and the lantern. As it approached us it became scared and BOOM! Like a cinderblock being thrown out into the water, it went under. The three of us jumped back and ran a little bit back from it. Come to find out, it was a beaver that was from close by. We shared a laugh about that.
God Bless John and his family.
Buddy Smith
I had not seen John in 22 years but when I saw “John Quinlan” in the headlines of The Baltimore Sun last week from my office in Colorado, I was immediately shocked and saddened -- I had no doubt who John Quinlan was or how I knew him. We attended 7th & 8th grades together at Immaculate and then freshman year at Calvert Hall, which was the last time I saw him. I never previously reflected on those days but I've spent the last week recalling the fun times we had. John was fun to be around and I am glad to have known him, albeit if only briefly.
I learned of this blog today but as I read everyone’s comments, I see that the great guy I remember from Immaculate was also a great husband, father, and soldier. John’s loss is felt far and wide -- I wish his friends & family strength and solace.
Chris Ketterman
Julie and family, I have spent the last few days trying to find the right words to send to you, and have come to the conclusion that they don't exist. You have been in my thoughts and prayers constantly, and I am just devastated for you. This has hit so close to home. My family met John and Julie in 2000 at Camp Humphrey's, Korea. Julie and I along with our children were there just so we could be with our husbands. I still remember John & Julie's little Korean apt. and the hours we spent chatting the days away while our girls played. The time since then has flown by. But the Quinlans and us have remained in touch and I've cherished every card, picture and email that we've exchanged. They are my "military" friends, that rare special breed that only military friends can understand. Not time nor distance can break. To share a memory, I would just like to testify to the amazing unconditional love that John and Julie had for each other. It was almost infections. My heart hurts so much now for my dear friend. And I only pray for peace, solace, comfort, courage, and above all strength.
Jessica Lund, Wiesbaden Germany
The flags in Ramsey, NJ, and Fairlawn NJ, were lowered to half staff today in honor of our cousin John Quinlan
John's funeral service at Arlington was beautiful. The honor guard performed flawlessly and all involved were professional and respectful. John deserved this wonderful service - he was a hero, a wonderful American and most of all a loving Father and Husband. I shall never forget him.
There is a song, which I've been hearing alot lately, that always made me think of John, it is House of Pains -"Jump Around". He loved to dance that song at the clubs, he would keep his arms down straight and stuck to his sides and jump like a marlin coming out of the water. You could see his red noggin from anywhere in the club.
-V
I first met Big John at Mother Rucker when we came down to the flight school graduation of our son Tim. There were a lot of sharp, eager young men in that class. Big John stood out because he was............ big. They all liked John and he liked to tell stories. We went out to eat one night. I think it might have been at Po' Folks and you could see this group enjoyed one another. Bubba Snyder, Cory Baer, Nate Noyes, Tim Gilroy and John seemed to get along very well. Some of us ended up at John's place and I suppose we were a bit noisy and woke the girls. Graduation was in a few days and John was telling of one of his experiences on a training flight with his IP. Now you have to imagine John in the left seat and a little uncomfortable with the IP loud and up close in his right ear..."Mr. Quinlan - just what don't you understand about come right to 2 7 0, descend at 100 ft/minute, maintain airspeed 120 knots and execute an emergency approach to the LZ." Now I made some of that up but you get the idea. We couldn't stop laughing at the image of John trying to get all that done. At the graduation dinner dance Big John was flawless in the receiving line introducing all the guests to the CO. They graduated and I'm sure each of them were outstanding CWO's.
Julie, I can't imagine how hard this must be. I miss him too. Army aviation and the country were well served by having a man such as your husband. I added below an old Irish ballad which highlights I think much of what we all feel. John was here much too short a time.
Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy,
A stick in me hand and a drop in me eye,
A doleful damsel I heard cry,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and drums and guns, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and drums and guns, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and drums and guns,
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh my darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye..........
Doc Gilroy
I want to share a story, just another small piece of John's life for you all. We were in Basic course together, the first time I ever really got to know John. He is just like everyone else says. He is Big John. We had one female and the rest males in our class. Most of us full of piss fire and vinegar for the most part. John was always out front. In fact, my lil legs just could not keep up on ruck marches. I had to run to keep up with his walk. That did not last too long. He was gone. But, he was there at the end laughing and talking and always there. We went in for assignment and the old CW5 Hawk guy started to hand them out 3 Chinooks, 3 Apaches, some Hawks and the rest 58's. The first 3 went Chinook, John included. The old CW5 just looked on in amazement. He could not for the life of him understand why someone would pick a CH47 over a UH60, especially the first 3. It was fun to see his expression. I went guns next and the old man just looked around like he was in a room full of children that he is watching throw their lives away. He then just drooped and shook his head. Well, since then we have all been somewhere. Allgaier was also one of those top 3 in the class and he was involved in a fatal air incident a few months after John. But, one thing is for sure, that CW5 was wrong. We never threw our lives away. Since 2002 I have lost 18 of my fellow aviators that I have either flown with, been commanded by, or been good friend of. All of whom were important and all of whom went too soon and left so much. I have never been remorseful for nor grieved for my friends till this last memorial day, mostly because I thought it was disrespectful to such brave individuals and would dishonor their memory. They went doing what they always wanted to do. No remorse and no regrets. That day I was digging in the back yard attempting to lay a foundation for a rock wall when suddenly it hit me. Every memory, every voice and every face flashed through my head that moment. I cried harder than when I was a child. I could not breath and I could not share this feeling with anyone around. No one would be able to say or do anything that would have conveied their true understanding about what I was going through. When this overwhelming feeling subsided I found myself slumped over face down in a large hole. I picked myself up and continued to work. We are always soldiers, out front, and never leave anyone behind even when they are gone.
The 2 year anniversery is coming up and I have seen this site a lot in the past two years, reading all the stories that everyone posted. I just want to say that my father was an exellent man and if you never got to know him, you missed out on a gentle giant that loved to make everyone in the room laugh. He did everything a great father was supposed to do like teach me how to ride a bike and teach me to boggie board and everything in between. He was bigger than life (literally) and put everyone else before himself. I loved my dad with every once of love that I had to offer. Sure we had our tiffs and arguements, but I still loved him. I was thinking recently about who was going to walk me down the aisle when I am going to get married. Uncle Danny? Uncle Greg? That makes me mad that he will not be here for that! School is hard without him and no body really understands!
My favorite story of my dad was when we went to find a GeoCache with Golly and PopPop and it was an army cache. It was hidden under a rocK near a really tall tree and I found it! My dad looked at me and it is a moment I will never forget. He said good job and gave me the biggest hug! We use to call them "Trash Compactors" because he would squezze me tightly and I loved them! It makes me question the philosophy of Everything Happens for a Purpose or It's all a part of God's Plan. Why would he really do that to me and everybody else? I don't know and neither does anybody else alive on this planet.
Thank you to anybody who knew my dad and anybody who wrote on this page. You don't know how much support it provides!
Keely - 1st daughter
Age 12
February 18th was the third anniversary of your crash.
I hope you are warmly wrapped in God's loving arms.
All your girls are growing up to be wonderful, beautiful & special girls.
Aunt Linda & I donated a chair with a plaque on the back with your name at my American Legion Post.
John, God be with you.
Love, Uncle John
Dad,
Well, last weekend was my Fourteenth birthday. I have made it this far. I'm going to catch you up on somethings that have happened that you missed. The first day of Middle School was rough, wishing I had someone there to hold my hand, and there was no one. My twelfth birthday rolled around, and still, no one there to fill that void you left behind. 7th grade came and passed, I had no help with math homework and no one to come to my award ceremony. Well, mom did and it was amazing, but there was an empty seat next to her. Went into 8th grade thinking this year is going to suck because I am going to miss you even more. You honestly have no idea how bad it hurts when some one else talks about how their dad just came home, and mine never did.
I am a teenager now and an accomplished soccer player. Dad, I think that the thing that gets me the most is when I remember my dad, I remember a tall guy who loved me. Most of the stories are on here are about you when you were still a kid. I remember you as the great guy that laid down his life to save millions here. I don't think anyone understands how different you were. Basically all these stories may be true, but they aren't who you were. Yeah, alright. You were hilarious and embarassing at sometimes, but that is the best thing about you. You know, I really hope you can read this up there and there are heaven computers or something(; you were different. Your morals and integretity made you who you were. Anyone who thinks they knew my dad, when you only actually knew him what? Twenty years ago. HE WAS A KID THEN. Sorry. You can say you knew him. But I was the last one to see him in my family, the last one to wave, the last one to smile at his face before he left me, forever. Your deepest sypathies can be with my grandparents or my aunt for whatever reason that maybe, but Erin, she doesn't even remember her own father! I remember him so clearly and he was MY DAD. I'm pretty sure none of you know what it is like to wave to your own father in an airport, not realizing that it would be the last time you would see him and thinking everything is going to be alright. NONE of you know what it feels like to answer the door and have two strangers ( John Evans, your not a stranger anymore, but you were then ) tell you your father has been killed in a tragic helicopter crash. A piece of me died inside.
I miss you like crazy Daddy, see ya later((:
Love, Your Oldest DAUGHTER <3
John and I worked together at MCAS El Toro, CA in VMGR-352. He was my neighbor in Tustin/Marble Mountain base housing. I lost touch when I left El Toro in June 1997. I just found out John passed on today from a friend on facebook on the VMGR-352 page/wall.
John was always very friendly and easy going. I remember him being an avid runner and bicycler. He was in a couple races with our friend "Hot Rod" Keller. I watched John's dog once when he and his family went on vacation. I joked that his dog had the same color fur as his hair. We used to talk alot of when he was a Harrier avionics tech in VMA-331. He said it was a shame that '331 had been decommissioned because it was the best of all the Harrier squadrons. I think we had been stationed at Cherry Point at the same time but didn't know each other there. I remember John as a good guy and Marine who was always in a good mood, and someone who loved his family. John was just applying to the Army WO program as I was leaving El Toro.
I am sorry to hear of John's passing. I haven't forgotten him all these years. Tim McCardle trmccardle at yahoo.com
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