John V. Rathbone Redington

West Point, 1975

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Thomas L. Fulton on May 2, 2025:

I only knew "JR", as I affectionately referred to him, for a year. I was a new kid in town, recently moved to northern New Jersey when my father started a new position in NYC. I met John before senior year of HS started at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, NJ. We were both on the varsity soccer team. John and a few others on the team took the new kid in just like an old friend, a great relief for someone with zero acquaintances. The varsity team was very good, so John, myself and a number of others took pride in playing hard in practice against the first string. We did a solid job as the team wound up the season undefeated with a single tie. John was in our calculus class that year and I was so happy for him when he announced that he had been accepted to the US Military Academy at West Point. This picture is exactly how I remember him. He was always smiling, always happy and optimistic. I'm glad he had such a full life of accomplishments and I'm sad beyond words that he is gone far too early.

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