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View a eulogy for John Kingsland Terry, USMA '65, who passed away on February 19, 2015.

John Kingsland Terry

West Point, 1965

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Jim Tomaswick on March 10, 2015:

Jack is one of those guys that once you met him, you would always love him.

We shared the same barracks (New South) at West Point. He was in M-1 and we lived down the hall in D-1. He was the go to guy when it came to almost anything physical. His strength and determination were outstanding.

After graduation, Jack and I first met up in Ranger School. Jack had not been a strong swimmer at West Point and I was the far shore lifeguard, so he walked in front of me on our patrols. During those long, dark, wet nights, we talked about many things including our experiences at the Academy and upcoming expectations in the Army. Jack was injured during Ranger 2 and was re-cycled to a future class, so I lost track of him until we met again in Vilseck, Germany for CBR School. We enjoyed the evenings dining at the O Club and sharing our mustard gas burns.

Then in March 1968, I heard that Jack was coming to my AO in Viet Nam. I contacted him and we set a time to rendezvous. When I arrived at his bivouac site, his XO informed me that Jack had been badly injured that day and had been medivaced with an apparent loss of his leg.

Jack and I lost personal touch for quite a number of years, but I kept up with his achievements of running marathons and competing in other physical events with a prosthesis leg. Jack had always been a fighter!

When Jack was admitted to the Castle Point VA Hospital in New York, Carol and I would visit every time Army had a home football game and we would bring him bags of books that my family had read. The series he said that he enjoyed most was the Lee Child, Jack Reacher Series, which knowing Jack's character, was not surprising. Over time, he had collected so many books, he let other patients borrow them and I fondly called him the VA Librarian. Jack was notorious at the hospital for not following orders of the staff. He seemed to get pleasure in, as Frank Sinatra sang it, I'll Do It My Way.

Jack, we will miss your smile, your sense of humor, your drive, and your friendship.

Until we meet again, we love you and we miss you.

Rest In Peace My Friend.

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