John first entered the military by enlisting in the Ohio Army National guard in 1984. He was a member of the 237th Medical Support Bn in Columbus OH. After basic and 2 AIT’s, John became a medic, practical nurse & wardmaster. He entered with a sense of wanting to perform in service to his country while going to college full time and working part time as well as membership in the Guard. In 1987 John transferred to a US Army Reserve unit in Pennsylvania while living in northeast Ohio. At the time the unit was very large, it was the 339th Gen Hospital 1000 bed. His first deployment was in 1990/1991 when he was involuntarily transferred to the 316th Station Hospital out of Harrisburg PA. They deployed to the King Fahad Army Hosp in Ryahd Saudi Arabia. John worked there in an ICU, and ICU step down and as a squad leader. He returned to the 339th after the war was over. Next, he deployed with the 339th to the San Vicente region in El Salvador to provide humanitarian assistance following an earthquake.
In 2002, John deployed with the 339th Combat Support Hospital to Bagram Airbase Afghanistan. They set up the first Combat Support Hospital in country in June 2002. While there, he worked as a medic, nurse, NCOIC of the EMT section and concurrently the Chief Wardmaster of the hospital. He returned with the 339th to the states in December 2002 at the completion of their mission. John remained in the 339th until he transferred to the Retired Reserves in April 2005 with over 20+ years of continuous service. John is currently working caring for all Veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in East Liverpool Ohio. John is proud to have served his time in the military and he continues to serve with pride each and every day as he gets the honor to care for Veterans in the clinic.
From John, “I invite all veterans to come to the site and share their stories and in the immortal words of CPT Winters “‘Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?’ Grandpa said ‘No… but I served in a company of heroes.’”
