River in Germany on floating bridges and spent some cold moments in France that winter. He served in the Forward Field Artillery in his unit and then he was in Innsbruck, Austria when the war ended and he heard the good news via the radio. He witnessed the German Soldiers giving up in the hundreds and stayed in the active military until December of 1945. Through his service in the Army he received the following awards:

The Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the WWII American Campaign Medal, the Army Reserve Medal of Service, a Presidential Unit Citation and the British Military Cross, only given to 20 GI’s in WWII. He offers this for the young veterans of today, “Don’t feel sorry for yourself, keep a positive attitude, which is the one thing that you must have”.

When he returned from the war, he received job referrals through the Extension Service at the University of Missouri which sent him a lead for a job with the O.S.U. Extension Service. He was then offered a job as an Animal Scientist where he worked for 27 years (1950 - 1977). Then in 1953, he joined the local Army Reserve unit in Corvallis, where he served until 1967 when he finally hung up his service boots. He continued to work at OSU until he retired from this second career in 1977 and he began his service as a community volunteer.

Once John retired he started to give his time to community organizations. Two groups in particular spoke to his heart and he began to volunteer his time with the Kiwanis Club and the Senior Meals Program.

Over the last 30 years, he has donated hundreds of hours cooking, delivering meals and in general serving on numerous community committees. He has become well known for his famous 'Barbeque sauce' for and barbequing thousands of prices of chicken, steak and hamburgers. He has enjoyed every moment of it and has met some wonderful people. He thinks the best part of his retirement has been his ability to “help people”. He believes that Corvallis is a special place and he feels that he “rarely sees a stranger” in Corvallis and loves that about this town.

He has been married for 64 years (his wife passed recently) and has three grown adult children, Pat (daughter) and sons David and Steve. He has loved his 54 years in Corvallis and plans to keep volunteering for many years to come.