John G. Rossi

West Point, 1983

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Pete Martin on August 17, 2016:

My name is Denis Harrington and w/ me is Ed Collazzo. We represent all of John's classmates from the West Point class of 1983 and additionally a band of brothers that came together in 1979 known as the '83 A-1 Plebes. Everyone gathered here today loved John Rossi immensely. And we all should know and believe this: John Rossi loved each and every one of us here today w/ all of his heart and all of his soul. As suggested before, I have known John since August of '79 when we were organized after basic training as part of the A-1 Plebes. Our bond and that of the group here today was forged in part because of the intensity of company A-1 and in part because of a scrappy, irreverent, sarcastic attitude we all shared. And no one personified sarcastic ... and cranky ... more than John. Sarcasm aside, John was indeed the rudder of our group. Lord knows he participated in many shenanigans but he was most often the one who would keep his cool and steer the group back on course just before we completely capsized... A task made especially difficult by the antics of hooligans like Tarpey and Shaver. John's "rudder" skills were complimented by a particularly annoying capacity to remember and record every misadventure and gesture of inappropriateness our gang could manifest ... And play it back for us in excruciating detail at Sunday brunch ... and for the next 37 years. Every beer over consumed; every argument ever initiated; every party who's welcome was over stayed; every pool ball perhaps thrown inappropriately; every ornamental wishing well possibly pummeled as part of a stupid dare ... Yes the Rudder turned into the "group conscience" at the light of day and never missed a detail; never failed to point out how prone to excess anybody except the Italians were. And then he'd guilt many of us to join him at mass. Yea he was a delight to face on Sunday morning. But man could he weave a story. And by the next Saturday morning he was right in the middle of the intense planning sessions focused on maximizing mayhem and escaping our plebe reality at least for a while. As a footnote to this: I have often wondered how a man could remember every detail of every story we had down to little details like, for instance, innocently substituting black sox for black gloves ... But couldn't remember a single element on the Periodic Table ... Crazy. As I mentioned before, John truly (perhaps curmudgeonly at times) loved and adored all of us here today. He was so proud of the foundation his family gave him - his work ethic, his Italian heritage, his Catholic faith. He loved and shared his Long Island family w/ us all - Pa, Noni, Grama Rossi, Aunt Norma, Uncle Silvano, cousin Steve ... and our greatest chauffeur - Yvonne! He was so proud to be the son of a NYC cop and never forgot how hard his dad worked to take care of the family. He was devoted to his mom Marie and made sure we knuckleheads behaved as best as possible when we visited the Rossi Florida home for 2 memorable spring breaks. He was so proud of his brother Rob ... Not only when we were younger but even more as the years went on and Rob became so successful as a husband, father and entertainment promoter. And he delighted w/ pride and love for his baby sister Donna. Filling her head w/ the craziest stuff, so he could brag to us how much zany wildness a 4 year old could know and say ... and all of it the result of his brainwashing sessions. John also learned to love the Army. From the guy who woke up every day throughout his cadet life declaring how much he hated that place to the guy who began counting down the days until he would resign from the Army ... The day after graduation ... To the guy who dedicated the last 33 years of his life to his beloved Army - John Rossi was the most committed and passionate Army officer we ever knew. His forte was leading soldiers and his dedication and commitment to the men and women of his commands was what earned him 3 stars. John was not much of a politician ... Kind of hated that racket in fact. But a soldier's-soldier, there was no finer. The love he had for the Army was beyond reproach. His greatest love was for his family and his faith. I was there when John and Liz first met at Luby's cafeteria. Truth be told, I was a little hungover. We both were - him a little; me a lot ... Perhaps. What I do recall is that it was real sparks right off the bat. So much so that Sunday brunch now became Luby's brunch and soon a few mid-week meals now shifted to Luby's. And once they balanced their Italian and Mexican emotional dynamics, true love prevailed for the next 32 years. And from that love came the most important people in John and Liz's life - Dominic, Maria, Angelina and grand baby Kylie. I know you guys won't have the benefit of more time w/ your Dad. But please try to remember the tremendous pride he had in all of you and the endless desire he had to provide for you by making the world a safer place and creating a foundation of love and support at home. And please know that his tremendous network of friends from Florida to West Point to the Army are all here for each of you as you navigate through this tremendous loss. Finally, John Rossi was a man of great faith in God. I first started to really notice this in yearling year when he (and sometimes Tarpey) would hover over my bed on Sunday mornings at the crack of 11:45 yelling at me that I would make him late for noon mass. He would then take off ... miffed again at my view of lateness and I would join him by 12:10 ... for the important parts of the mass. And as you probably suspected, he would detail over lunch that followed my tardiness and need to improve... And the same routine would repeat itself the next week. He was committed then ...and stayed committed to God and his Catholic faith throughout his life. He and Liz raised their kids w/ an understanding of the power of faith and an example of how to live it. John's faith and his relationship w/ God was a source of strength for him always and a key element of why we all know he has now joined his mom and the "choir of angels" in Heaven. Using the immortal words of P.S. Reinecke in The West Point Alma Mater -- "And when our work is done. Our course on earth is run. May it be said, Well done: be thou at peace!"... I say to you my dear friend John Rossi - Well done: be thou at peace!

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