Thoughts on John - One Year Anniversary

A party to celebrate John's life was held on Sun Mar 16th at Vic's in Bradley Beach, following a Mass at St. Elizabeth's. John's father, Robert Quinlan, said these words:

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It’s been a fast tough year. John has been missed by all his family and friends.

In life, John wanted to succeed at all his endeavours. His quest for success in the military put him on a fast and dangerous track. He understood the dangers but wanted to challenge himself and his fellow soldiers to accomplish difficult missions. This he did this for five wars over 18 years. His last mission was his most difficult one.

John joined the military because it had numerous challenging options. He initially chose the Marines and aircraft avionics as his first military profession. He excelled in this field and was the go-to-guy for his contemporaries. He then was a Loadmaster in the Marines for C130 cargo aircraft. This I think gave him the interest in becoming a pilot.

John wanted to serve our country and have a wonderful family. He accomplished both. Julie surprised Kate and I by being here today. His daughters could not be here today as they are in Tennessee. Kate, Sue, Olivia, and I visited Julie, Keely, Maddie, and Erin in February. Overall, they are doing very well and wish to thank all of you who have kept them and us in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult period.

John’s devotion to his own family and extended family and friends has been brought to our attention numerous times through words, letters, emails and pictures. We –his family- have had the distinct honor to learn of John’s deeds and accomplishments well beyond our initial understanding. John would not have shared with us most of these deeds and accomplishments or put a humorous spin on them. He did not want us to worry and he wanted to create the feeling in us that he could handle any situation. We know he did his very best on his last mission.

John was a Senior Pilot and had over 1800 hours of flying time and almost half of that was in combat. John became a helicopter pilot because he wanted to sit in the front seat. He was in charge of the aircraft and responsible for his crew and passengers. John was scheduled last year become a Master Pilot and Flight Leader. Both positions would have put him in the top U.S. Army pilot positions.

I hope you all understand a little more about John. We, as his family, are extremely proud of him and his many accomplishments. As his parents, we could not have asked for a better son. The pride he had for Julie, Keely, Maddie, and Erin was infectious. His sister Susan and her family will miss him forever. John’s death was a difficult loss to all of us.

John left us with many memories. Those memories will keep him alive in all of us. His sense of humor and story telling will allow us to continuously smile when thinking about him.

We wish John well as God’s Co-pilot.

I would like to ask Roger to play “Arlington” as a tribute to John.