| VFW Connections |
 |
John joined the VFW as a member of Post 1503 around 15-20 years ago. He found the post to be a great place for socializing and bringing his friends, especially his volleyball team. Today, you can frequently find John having a conversation in the Canteen or at one of the Post 1503 special events. John sees the VFW as an extension of our military "family,” a place where we can be our authentic selves with those who truly understand and accept us.
|
John was born at Walter Reed Hospital, as his father served in the Army as a truck driver. However, his early days soon presented him with many challenges, as his mother died when he was only a year and a half old. As his father could not adequately care for him as a single active-duty soldier, John spent his childhood moving among family members, friends, and neighbors. He spent time in Tennessee and New York before eventually returning to the DC metro area.
When he was 10 years old, he and his father moved to a manufactured home community in Alexandria. John attended Walt Whitman Middle School and graduated to James Madison High School in Vienna. His relationship with his father grew to be tumultuous, so John ran away and eventually became a foster child.
However, John enjoyed school, especially thanks to his favorite teacher and eventual life-long mentor, Patty Barnes. He participated in several activities in school, including basketball and football. John also had a gift for music, learning to play the guitar and taking the role as a bass-baritone in the school choir. But perhaps the reason he enjoyed school most of all was that he found popularity through being a social individual, having at least one friend in each of the typical school groups, from the athletes to the musicians. He was very close with his best friend, Mike, and Mike’s older sister, Shari. They were a brother and sister to him growing up, and they still treasure that they have maintained this relationship throughout their lives.
After John graduated from high school, he moved in with his long-term girlfriend and worked a few jobs. When that relationship ended, John moved in with Mike for a few weeks before it was time for him to move on. John knew he wanted to find another direction for his life, looking to the military to provide him with new opportunities.
The decision to join the military was a fairly quick transition. John took the ASVAB and joined the Army. He completed basic training and AIT at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Although John originally received orders to head to Texas, there was another soldier in the command who needed to go to Texas to help provide care for his ailing grandmother. The command agreed to swap John’s orders with the other soldier, sending John to Germany.
Once at the Bad Hersfeld Army Base, John was part of a mechanized unit near to the country then known as Czechoslovakia. John’s MOS as a 19K meant that he was an M1A1 gunner assigned to defend the border checkpoints in Germany. As this was during the height of the Cold War, the group needed to be prepared to defend the area if a full-scale war broke out until reinforcements could arrive.
In November of 1989, John was in his full gear and set for combat when his company was told to stand down. John and his three fellow soldiers watched from their Humvee during the fall of the Berlin Wall. He describes the mass exodus from East to West Germany as both "beautiful” and "scary,” as the emotional crowd streamed past their vehicle. This historic moment would be his last border tour.
From there, John went to "Hell on Wheels,” or the tank division. This was a big transition for him, as the work there was routine and boring compared to the tightly-knit group that had defended the borders with him. As part of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, known as the "Black Horse” after the regimental insignia, he found the cavalry was respected by the other units. During this time, John met and married a German woman.
John trained with the 2nd Armored Division (Forward), and the group frequently found themselves conducting drills with the tanks. During the same time, there was brewing tension developing in Kuwait. One day, their preparation and training were put into action when they found themselves on a bus heading to the first Gulf War. Upon their arrival, they felt invincible seeing the numerous tanks combing the desert in a show of military power. The whole battalion became part of "The Big Red One.” John engaged in active combat for several months and returned home as a changed man. This "new normal” after combat was a challenging transition for him.
At the conclusion of the war, the Army was downsizing. John’s wife encouraged him to find a local job. So, after 4 ½ years in the Army, John completed his enlistment.
With his time in the military complete, John planned to stay in Germany with his wife on a permanent basis. They lived in the city of Bermerhaven and quickly made friends. John worked for a local company and found himself tasked with a wide variety of jobs, from building electronics and installing phones to delivering groceries.
In 1992, John’s childhood friend, Mike, told John that he should come home to the United States to learn a trade focused on computers, as this would help him with employment opportunities in Germany. John agreed to this suggestion and flew back to begin an educational program. On a return trip to Germany at the end the year, John and his wife made the decision to separate, and John remained in the United States afterward. Mike welcomed John into his home with open arms, and they ended up being roommates for nine years. John eventually bought his own home in the area and has lived there since then.
John became an IT specialist, eventually working his way up to government contracting positions and leading as a senior project manager. He worked with major governmental organizations, such as the Department of Homeland Security, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon Technologies. Later, John moved on from government contracting. He transitioned into coaching at local schools for girls’ sports, especially volleyball. John had always organized group sports with his friends as a child and found that he worked well as a coach and mentor for these athletic groups. John feels very strongly that this type of mentorship should reflect a holistic approach, helping others to grow both physically and mentally to become their best selves.
Today, John has honed in on his passion for his entrepreneurial spirit. Although he didn’t know what an entrepreneur was in his younger years, he always had an interest in serving the greater good for the public. He is now is the proud owner of Rag2Riches Franchise, a free service that teaches individuals how to purchase their own franchise businesses from among 75 industries.
John looks forward to growing his social circle through the VFW and hopes to welcome others into his life.
- The choir at John Madison High School was quite successful during John’s secondary years. They competed in several regional and state competitions. John even participated in the recording of four albums with the school choir and hopes to someday find those recordings in an archive.
- After missing the ASVAB Air Force score requirement by a single point, John decided to join the Army. However, he is happy with that outcome today, especially reflecting on how his life might have been different in another military branch.
- Although it was summertime when John completed basic training and AIT in Kentucky, it was unseasonably cold during the months he was there. The group did not enjoy having to train in the unusually chilly weather.
- Another reason that John was eager to accept the orders to Germany after AIT is that he had started a relationship with a nanny in England. He wanted to be closer to her, so he pressed his command to allow the swap with the soldier who needed it to be with his sick grandmother in Texas.
- John still has a piece from the Berlin Wall, as well as a section of fencing from the "Iron Curtain” dividing line between East and West Germany.
- While most German families keep close-knit friend circles, John found himself with a large social network after playing his guitar on his stoop one afternoon. His neighbor invited him to a party after hearing John play and from then on John became a welcome guest for all their social events.
- Today, John’s signature wardrobe item is his cowboy hat.
