Posted by Oleh Koropey on November 27, 2019:

John was an outstanding soldier, leader and a very good friend. I will miss him. We were both platoon leaders in the 3rd Squadron, Fourth Cavalry operating in the Cu Chi , Vietnam area, albeit at different times. Our class provided several armored cav platoon leaders for the 25th Infantry Division during that war. I showed up in Cu Chi in February 1966. Dan Speilman arrived a couple months later. About a year later, John took over Dan's platoon as Dan rotated home. John once recounted to me how, just a few days after arriving in Cu Chi, he received the unusual mission ( for an Armored Cav platoon), to load up helicopters and conduct an air assault to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. John's flexibility, leadership and improvisational skills were amply demonstrated in that mission. John made it a point to tell me that Dan Speilman had left him a very well trained and disciplined platoon. John and I served together in in 1968/69 in the 6th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Meade, MD. Our main mission was readiness for riot control in Washington DC. He did a great job as a squadron operations officer. We played squash together. As I recall, I got hit in the eye with a squash ball. (I recovered quickly.) We watched the Super Bowl in the Fort Meade Officers Club, witnessing Broadway Joe Namath and the NY Jets upset Johnny Unitis and the Baltimore Colts. I will always appreciate John's being in my wedding party in June 1970. We overlapped again in Grafenwoehr, Germany in 1976. John was definitely a mover and a shaker. At that time he was a battalion executive officer. I particularly remember the truly outstanding mess hall that he had set up for his battalion; as well as the fun we had in a trip he had arranged, driving to a wonderful restaurant in the Bavarian countryside. I was not surprised to see John become a general officer. He was smart, energetic and very good with people. He made a significant contribution to our national defense through his work with our Latin American allies. I offer my deepest condolences to John's wife, Linda and to his daughters. Oleh Koropey

admin