John left college in 1968, galvanized by the Tet Offensive and frustrated by academic debates. “There were a lot of people talking about the war in the dorm rooms, but I didn’t think they understood it,” he later said.
John enlisted in the Army, volunteering for the elite Green Berets, where he trained as a Special Forces medic and rose to assistant team leader in the secretive Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG).
Assigned to Spike Team Louisiana at Forward Operating Base 1 in Phu Bai, John conducted covert reconnaissance missions in the hostile A Shau Valley and across the border in Laos. His defining moment came on August 3, 1968, during a perilous operation in the A Shau Valley, a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) stronghold. His six-man recon team, led by Wilbur “Pete” Boggs, was pinned down in the jungle. One teammate was killed instantly, Boggs was critically wounded, and radio operator Tom Cunningham lost a leg. As medic, John braved relentless fire, crawling to treat the wounded while engaging encroaching NVA soldiers. When a grenade incapacitated Boggs, John assumed command, calling in an F-4 Phantom airstrike dangerously close to their position, breaking the enemy’s advance.
Extraction was a desperate gamble. South Vietnamese pilot Captain Thinh Dinh, defying orders, landed his KingBee helicopter under heavy fire. John helped load the wounded as bullets struck the chopper. Overloaded, Thinh rolled the helicopter downhill to gain speed, narrowly escaping over the treeline. John’s actions—treating wounds, fighting off attackers, and coordinating the airstrike—saved his team from certain death. For his “courage, cool head, and medical ability,” he was awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest valor award.
John’s service in MACV-SOG, one of the war’s most dangerous assignments, marked him as a soldier of extraordinary grit. His Vietnam experience, forged in the crucible of combat, defined a legacy of bravery far removed from his family’s retail empire. Tragically, John died on June 27, 2005, when his experimental ultralight aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
God Bless this American hero 🇺🇲❤️🙏🏼🦅🎖
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