;
click on picture to enlarge
Posted by UltimaRatioReg in Navy,
Uncategorized,
historyYou can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
problemos: email : Doc Riojas : el_ticitl@yahoo.com
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GulfCoast SEALs Christmas Party in Houston TX 4 Nov 2010
docrio45 [at] gmail DOT com |
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Enrico "Hank" Tonga's Photo Album
These guys, in these photos, are all from UDT 4, I signed up at seventeen in 1946 dischared at Twenty one in 1949; I left UDT 4 in oct. 1949, Some got out and some made the NAVY their career , WhenCook mentioned big JOHN and you talked a bout Scolice I went looking at some pictures I have I thought you might like to see, they are yours my man. Take care you hear Have a good day Hank
Doc Rio, I found a new way to write a letter. Look on the back of each picture. You can keep them. They are copys. Enjoy, Hank
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Boot Chiefs: John F. Rabbitt & Chuck Newell
.
Have you ever been to SEA FLOAT in CaMau Peninsula Vietnam? Numbah Ten!
;
Anthony
O Brien
Frederick H Kaiser
Jay Redman
Robert Bowes
L
to R: John Luscher (SeaWolf, Jay Stansell, Martin Mapes, Larry Lyons, Ken
Abasolo, Roger Guerra
Eugenio "Panco" Cresini & Joseph "Red"
Coyle
SEAL TEam FOUR
L
to R: Jack Lynch, ? , Rudy Boesch, Jim Tipton
Thomas J. Valentine
died in Parachute Accident 2/2008
Doc; Dick Pearson I am sending these photos of Henry
Tindall RIP. I hope it is
a long time before you receive my obit.
Share with all teammates. R.P.
Rio's Note: Thank you very much Dick.
The West Coast Fifty's (1950) Frogmen by Donald Belcher: mailto: popeye5 [at] insightbb.com
Harry Tindall; taken on an APD somewhere off
From: susierauch [at] aol.com
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008
To:
tfrank [at] cox.net
Subject: Harry Tindal
Hi Frank,
I just found out that Harry Tindall Passed away on January 20, 2008. I do not have any other info. I am in Nevada with the Grandkids and can't figure out how to send out from my address book.
Will you please forward this on the guys. I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
Susie
Terry,
I think it takes a Bosun Mate, not an ET, to master the art of coffee brewing. Why just look what a grand job Dad Warren did running the coffee mess the final six-months he was in the Navy!
Hoo Yah!
John
Terry Fowler wrote:
I learned a lot from Harry, but was unable to man the coffee mess. When I was due to get out in 1968, it was traditional to spend the last week taking care of the coffee mess. Now I didn't and still don't drink coffee so I tried to follow Harry's instructions closely knowing that coffee was a very big deal to most of the Team.
I brewed up my first batch on my own and Harry came by to inspect. He took a sip, tasted it carefully, and told me "You know you can't make it too strong. If a man wants it a little weaker, he can always add hot water."
I said "Aye Aye Chief", and the next morning added a couple extra measures to the coffee pot. Harry came by to inspect, sipped the coffee, and got a very sour look on his face. After a bit he said, "Fowler, don't bother with the coffee from now on." And my internship at the coffee locker came to an end.
Terry Fowler
-----Original Message-----
From: Franklin Anderson
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008
To: Frank Toms;
Subject:
Re: Another Icon done gone
Harry broke in many young frogs when they first came into the team; They learned what the Frogs were all about. Harry was the TEAM ELEVEN Master at Arms for many years and kept the team running like a well oiled machine. You could set your watch on when he would arrive in the morning and make sure the coffee was brewing. He reserved the weekends for washing his car and mowing his lawn--He was a perfectionist and passed these traits on to the men. He was one of the best examples of a "TRUE FROG" that you could find. Back in 1957 Harry was one of Two BM-s to make Chief in the entire USN. GOD BLESS HIM -
Franklin -----
Original Message -----
From: Frank Toms
To: Al C. Sent: Friday, February 15,
2008
Subject: Another Icon done gone
RIP Harry……………the first Master Chief I ever saw. He was all about being a good Frog, PT, running, sunning, volley ball and gardening. He started many young Frogs on landscaping careers. It looks like he and Doc Williams passed on the same day. A sad day for all Frogs and
SEALs.
Frank
Elvira
& Andy ANdrews
Billy
Burank and Billy
Isaac George“Ike” Rodriguez TM2(SEAL) ST-4 KIA Panama
Doc Riojas, Webmaster's
NOTE: THe book: "Medal of Honor, A Vietnam Warrior's Story" by
M. Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez, USA, SF (Ret) and John R. Craig
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LTJG John Connors, USN (SEAL)
December 2009
Twenty years is a long time. It spans the entire life of many a young Sailor and Marine. Twenty years is four Presidents ago. Twenty years ago, the Berlin Wall had just come down, and the impact of that event was yet to be known to East or West Germany, to the United States, or to the Soviet Union. Heady times, and a hopeful if uncertain future. Twenty years ago today, just five weeks after the momentous events in Europe, US forces were in action in Panama. Operation JUST CAUSE led to the capture of Manuel Noriega, in a short, sometimes sharp fight that was far less costly than predicted estimates. Twenty three American servicemen were killed, as were about two hundred Panamanian soldiers. I wasn’t there. A First Lieutenant assigned to MCRD Parris Island, I was overseeing recruits being made into Marines. But I remember JUST CAUSE very vividly. That day, I was the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion Officer of the Day (OOD), and upon completing my squad bay checks at 0200 I flipped on the TV in the duty room. The 24-hour news cycle was in its infancy, but there was coverage on every channel of US forces engaged in a number of firefights, with a byline of “Fort Sherman, Panama”. It took a while to sort out the details, well into the next day. The news dominated discussion in the Bn CP the next morning, with some fairly amusing comments from the old man about this being what happens when you choose the wrong dictator. Casualties were reported as very light, thankfully. That evening, as I ironed my uniform for the next day, the phone rang. The voice of my friend on the other end of the line said, “Don’t know if you heard, but Connors was killed. He was killed in action some time yesterday, in Panama”. Wow. Jee-zus. John was not the first friend of mine who had been killed in service to his country. Nor was he even the first to be killed in action. A high school friend had died in the Marine barracks in Beirut. But John was the first of my friends to die who’d seemed, I don’t know, bulletproof, invincible. John was a piece of work. He was sharp, motivated, and dedicated. Funny as hell, too. And he was very, very smart. He had graduated from WPI, for chrissakes. He was one of the toughest guys I have ever known. In the time since I’d last spoken to him, he had completed SEAL training, and had been assigned to his team. In order to make the mission in Panama, he dragged himself out of a hospital bed, where he had been battling an intestinal parasite. How the hell does a guy like THAT get killed? He shouldn’t have been on that mission, could have stayed in his hospital bed and continued his recovery. But anyone who knew John was not surprised that he would find a way to be with his men when they needed him most. They would also not be surprised to know that John was a top-shelf leader in a community of top-shelf leaders. But LTJG John Patrick Connors was not bullet-proof. He and three members of his team died coming to the aid of comrades who were pinned down. (Chief McFaul, TM2 Rodriguez, and BM1 Tilghman were the other SEALs who had been killed.) They had followed their leader into harm’s way. John Connors was not the first friend to die for his country. He certainly wouldn’t be the last. Indeed, the list is far longer than I care to remember these days. But when I hear the notes of Taps playing, and I think of all of those brave souls who gave their tomorrows so that we could have our todays, it is John’s face I see first. LTJG John Connors was 25. Maybe twenty years isn’t such a long time after all. You are missed, my friend.
Posted by UltimaRatioReg in Navy,
Uncategorized,
historyYou can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
5 Responses to “LTJG John Connors, USN” |
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Dicki
Cyrus, ??,
Leonard
Mc Carthy and Riojas 1990
McCarthy & Riojas 2007
Bill
Hamilton
Jerry Hammerle
John Muckle
James
adn Dave Morrison
Ollie Oliver
Dr.s Riojas and Aquardo
Carl Swepston and BietHai in 'nam
Tucker
and Bob Shouse
.
;
UDT East Coast
http://www.sealtwo.org/
click
on image to enlarge it.
&nb
see Sam
Bailey?
Millionaire: Jesse Hardy Class 29
Jake Rhinebolt, Phippsburg MA 2004
??, Jim watson, ??,
Richard Marcinko
Jump Pay was $55.00 a month.
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Email
While scrolling thru the pics so far here's names
I found missing. You may not have added them due to space or too tired at the
time...(senior citizen disease)..haha
Page #2 Jerry hammerle ( rite above
Ollie).
IBS drop..I think he was one of the riggers;
Jeerry "??? I think, Jim Fox & I were the first to do the
IBS drop out of the UDTY/21 then UDT 22 riggers loft.
Under PR training class pic..Gov Janus..aka
Jessse Ventura
Next to MOH Kerry , Chuck LeMoyne
/s/ Richard
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Doc Rio's NOTE:
Thank you CDR Marcinko aka:
"Demo Dick" then aka: Rogue Warrior.
click on photo for some of his books. Dick Marcinko and harry
Humphries
ROGUE WARRIOR: "Deplaning for his first combat assignment, he writes, he inhaled deeply and "knew instantly that I was going to like Vietnam a whole lot." He revels in "the wonderful lethal odor of cordite wafting over me" and tells us that after one particularly hairy action, "I dreamt of warm women and cold beer."
Irve
C. Le Moyne
.
BietHai,
Scottie Lyons, Pete "Pirate" Carolan
sitting, Instructors Doc Riojas Thanh standing and LDNN class in Camh Ranh Bay 'Nam
; This is the class that Kiet Nuygen started but had to go see his wife who
was having their first child. He came back to graduate from the next
class.
| Doc
Riojas,
C.O.
Trung Ta Trinh Hoa Hiep, died of Cancer in L.A. CA.
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Larry
Bailey, ??, A. Dee Clark
Melvin
Spence Dry , Philip "Moki" Martin, John Chamberlain
.
Dick
Marcinko
T.N. Tarbox, CO ST-2
left:
Jack Schultz
We have a ass hole in our DAV post getting Compensation for PTSD-- he was a seaman aboard a ship in the far east and a Russian plane was seen flying within eyesight of his ship. He says he still has bad dreams because of the incident. They are considering giving the Purple Heart for PTSD which will open up another can of worms, it will take funds from other areas where they are really needed- and will degrade the Purple Heart to a so what status If everyone were honest and above board in their actions and thoughts that would be one thing but too many people lie through their ass attempting to gain compensation for something that never happened which makes it even more difficult for men with real injuries to obtain what is justly due them. Guys with real PTSD get compensation and help anyway Mostly Army guys Why do some think they should have the Purple Heart? Back when UDT training was what it was and Tom Blais and Chuck Newell were training instructors. Every man they trained could claim PTS after training but never would ever do it. I am telling you for real if TB or CN ever looked into your face and saw fear caused by the training you would wish you were dead because they would Give you some personal instruction. If you got through that the PTSD would have never mattered and you would never ever get it because you had already had it and never wanted any of it again. The thing about their personal instruction is that those who got it behind them and stuck it out could always be relied on to never quit or be effected by tough times-- When Blais would get pissed and his face turned red and his eyes dilated and his teeth clenched then he would smile. You knew you were in for something you never dreamed of happening to your little self. There was one guy in my class the got crossed up with TB someway and when he realized it he ran away, went over the hill, hauled ass. and we never saw him again--and at the time I couldn't blame him-- we all knew he was going to be dead meat and if he came through it he would always be demented. We had a another guy in my class who had four years service and was a seaman (E3 if you don't remember). this guy had been stationed on Naval Air bases and had always worked in the gym and weight room, when he went aboard a carrier he took care of the weight room and ran around the flight deck. To look at him you would think he was Charles Atlas. This guy got crossed up with CN and for a couple of day survived but one day Newell walked up to him and told him he was going to run him to death--This guy was no push over either and the next run we were on he knew what was coming up and faked a pass out, We had just had some class on physiology and the word medulla oblongota (medulla)was mentioned, anyway when they brought him around he told them his medulla oblongota was swollen up and he couldn't breathe. Blais and Newell and Wadell went high order then made some of the guys drag him out into the surf and then made the whole class run over him--They said if anyone that didn't get a Boon Doctor on his ass they would wish they had, and they meant it too! We never saw this guy again. The Ambulance came and hauled him away then they ran us down the beach and up down ever sand dune until there were guys strung out for miles-- then the Jeep got between the pack and the stragglers and that night the stragglers were kept up squat jumping until muster the next morning. Once you got in deep like that it made every day harder and harder until there was nothing left, you could only hope for a week end so you could recover well enough to make it through the next week. Just sharing memories--- Fred Miller Webmaster's NOTE: He is one of my best friends. Fred was WIA in 'nam. He was shot through the femur of one of his legs and damn near lost it. He was medically discharged. He rehabilitated himself while a civilian, and although he had one leg shorter than the other one attempted to rejoin the Navy and was declined. The U.S.Army accepted him and he retired as a Major. He was the foremost knowlegable weapons officer in the USA and is now a Gunsmith in Iowa.
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"Roy Boehm (1st SEAL) Said That"
To Doc Rio, I will not comment on the amount of incoming each of the people you have mentioned have seen. I would not recognize delayed Stress Syndrome; if I fell over it, so far from what I have observed if you cry and need mommy's comfort and protection, can't find a job, can't hold a job, suck on drugs, and dive under the couch when a car backfires your lazy ass was lying on while holding a can of kickapoo joy juice as a pacifier.This is a good indicator that you have not been in combat and have stolen Valor, and defaced a true Man-O-Warsman. As a veterans employment representative for the State of Florida I found the best cure for their ailment to be the exposure of their DD 240. assisted by cutting off their unemployment compensation. Just a little known fact about my post service life.
It was the Pompano Florida office for about ten years.
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Your Pad is ready,Freddy
Composed especially for Erasmo Riojas,
on 06/03/07 by Thomas E. Blais
As said last night at eleven
You called while I was in heaven
Still, I was not in the least upset
Yet, a rhyme or two I could not beget.
I was delighted to hear your tone
As it travled from phone to phone
your words were calm and nice
Not designed to entrap or intice.
You refered to a, perhaps ethos affair
Were you serious; are we going there
My home would have to be a fort
To entertain such an exotic sport.,
What the hell, why not change our luck
We will use my beat up old truck
Driving into the devil's black night
Our chant may stimulate a grand fight.
Of course this ditty was written in jest
But, the words, no less, straight from the vest.
I'll look after you team mate; never fear
Your welcomed visit is fully secure.
Tom Blais
"with finesse!"
Mrs.
Cindy Bassett Jessie Ventura
Layton "King" Bassett
.
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
Jerry
"Indian":Sweesy and Family
Lt
to rt: ??, ??, Hook Turre, PT Schwartz, ??, Pete Peterson, Chuck Jessie, Jack
Rowell, Erasmo Riojas, Don Tocci, Mike Boynton from the movie "Men with
Green Faces"
Jerry Sweesy
lt to rt: Adm.?, ??, HM1 ???
ST-2 7th Plt 1970 DaNang RVN: Front sitting: Tom Hawkins, Ed. McQueen, Bill Day. STANDING: John Jaunzems, Ty Zellers, Jim Finley, LDNN ??, Joe Silva, Mike SPenser, Bob Rieve, Fred Keener, Doc O'Brien BACK: BSU warrior ???
A.Dee Clark
Louis
Boissvert
Philip "Moki"
Martin front left sitting.
Kiet Nguyen and Wife ??
Tom
R. Norris , Nguyen Van Kiet
Bob "Scham"
Schambuger
Harry
"Ozzie" Grant, Frank Fauth Bob
Richardson
Quan
& Journalist CamRanh
Bay LDNN training Camp
.
Darryl
Young
Joe SMith works with the Houston TX Police Dept.
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Darryl Young SEAL Team ONE Subject: Re: Erasmo "Doc Rio" Riojas SEAL Web Page has changed Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 16:36:55 -0700 From: seal1@marsweb.com (Darryl Young) Organization: M@RSWeb/ISM To: el.ticitl@worldnet.att.net References: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 SEAL 1 Home of "The Element of Surprise" & "SEALs, UDT, Frogmen" Warning!!! The NSWA (Naval Special Warfare Archives) has determined that viewing these pages for wannabe's is hazardous to their health! This is not a web page for fake, phony UDT/SEAL Wannabe's! If you're a Wannabe get out now & go to www. http://members.tripod.com/~fakeseal/ Your name & photo could very well end up here!!! Doc... Appreciate the help... Do you want my user name & password... I'll call if u need them??? Thanks... the DD Doc Rio wrote: KA KA!, no way in two years! send me what you want on it. I'll get it going for you. by the way I wrote Marsweb to let me get into their help pages so i can see how they upload their graphics. Lets get it goin.
tu amigo
Erasmo "Doc Rio"
Riojas
aka: El
Ticitl
http://home.att.net/~el.ticitl/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/6485/index.html Date: Sun, 08 Feb 1998 10:39:15 -0700 From: seal1@marsweb.com
(Darryl Young) Organization: M@RSWeb/ISM To: el.ticitl@worldnet.att.net
References: 1 Doc... Great chattin with you this AM... Here are 3
more plates... Dont Doc, Thanks for helpin me get started on the web page... I'm a real dummy when it comes to some of this shit... Once I get "hands on" experiance I'll do fine!!! Let me know what u need... the DD
Erasmo "Doc Rio" Riojas wrote: Thanks Mr. Young, Please let me know what you have in mind for
web coverage on wannabe's, i don't believe i can beat RD Russell
and Kent Dillingham. They
got things well covered there. you see http://www.frii.com/~rdruss/hey,
is that you holding the stoner and the M-60 the picture is in may
article titled: THE HAS
BEANS. thanks, my
man, i am 66 years old, couldn't fight myself out of a wet paper
bag. I got a terrible back
(too many night full equiment jumps?).
I want to go watch you guys kick some ass though.You gonna be
in thanks your brother in arms, doc rio Subject: Re: Signed Guestbook Date: Thu, 21 Aug 97 16:19:29 +0000 From: seal1@marsweb.com (Darryl Young) Organization: M@RSWeb/ISM To: el.ticitl@worldnet.att.net References: Doc!!! Thanks for the email... Yes that is me holding the Stoner & M-60 on RD's web... I'm also on Brian Curl's web at www.navysealteams.com... I would like to come to the muster but do not fly!!! Maybe I'll just drive... Long ways from Montana ... Thanks Doc!!! Darryl Young Doc... Yes... That is my picture... I have the negative & the original... There's not much I sweat out anymore & when I become 66 I may fly too...LOL... But I have a little ways to go before then!!! My door is always open to you!!!
Riojas wrote: i got work to do in this page,
one
of the plates is much too large. agree?
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/6485/plates.html Erasmo
"Doc Rio" Riojas
aka: El
Ticitl http://home.att.net/~el.ticitl/index.html http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/6485/index.html
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Pat
Martin & Billy Burbank
Rio in Hollywood, CA.
Erasmo
Riojas & Clarence A. Presley in Korea Police Action
.
sol
Atkinson, Jesse Ventura
Gary Smith, SEAL, Author of 2 books
John
F. Rabbitt
LT.
Conner
J.F. Rabbitt ST-2
By all accounts, Scott Helvenston (SEAL), who joined Blackwater in March 2004, was well
prepared for security work. He had been a Navy SEAL instructor and was a world
class athlete. But he was in debt and Blackwater's pay -- about $600 a day --
was a chief reason for signing on for a two-month contract. He told a friend he
expected to be guarding Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional
Authority. But he never met Bremer. Blackwater had a new contract with a
catering company, ESS, and they were scrambling to find new guards.
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Salem Post office, friends remember Ron Quear WHAT: Ron
Quear Memorial Breakfast
SALEM — If you stood in line at the
Salem Post Office, you probably saw or were waited on by Ron
Quear. |
Donnie Raimon
Feffrey A. Lucas
Joseph C. Schwedler
Matthew J. Bourgeois
Ryan Zinke
Ted Alexander
Capt.Bill
Hamilton
RADM R. Harward
RADM Robert Harward
8 SEALs KIAs,
Mitchell Hall
(SEAL)
Michael
Murphy
Who is Mike Lumpkin?
Mike
Lumpkin
"Snake"
Seth Stone
Joseph Kernan
Doug Brown
Zach Riley
Mi Vida Loca - Copyright
©1998 - All Right Reserved email:
docrio45@gmail.com
Mi Vida Loca - Copyright ©1998 -
All Right Reserved Webmaster: Erasmo
"Doc" Riojas email: docrio45@gmail.com
Tom
Rancich
SEAL CPO
Jack "Doc" Salts
George and Sally Monsoor
Tom Carroll 
Perfecto
"Ray"
Ramos
Harry Constance, Rinney,
Robert "Eagle" Gallagher
TC
Cummings - Master Coach TC Cummings, former U.S. Navy Seal Commando,
honors the standards and philosophies embraced by Jim Rohn. TC has an
exceptional history of overcoming adversities. His story begins in New York,
where at age 16, he assumed sole responsibility of his own financial support.
Through 8 years as an Operator and Corpsman in the elite U.S. Navy commando SEAL
Teams, he traveled the world learning communication and teamwork on the cutting
edge. His 6 plus years of working with individuals and corporations in
professional coaching and speaking infuses his presentations with energy and
insight.
To learn more about TC Cummings, email speaker@yoursuccessstore.com
or call 877-929-0439.
Tom
Shoulders
Captain
Frank K. Butler, M.D.http://www.special-operations-technology.com:80/article.cfm?DocID=743
Dick Couch, a 1967 graduate of the
U.S. Naval Academy and former platoon commander of SEAL Team One, conducted one
of the only successful POW rescues of the Vietnam War. He later served as a
maritime operations officer with the CIA. Now living on Bainbridge Island in
Puget Sound, Couch is a captain in the Naval Reserve and recently retired from
his duties as senior serving reserve SEAL officer. This is his fourth novel.
Jeffrey
Allen Lucas. Electronics Technician First Class, U.S. Navy (SEAL).
Born 17th September,1971, killed in action June 28,2005 in
Afghanistan. While on a mission to rescue 4 Navy SEALS who were
surrounded and under intense enemy fire, members of the Army Special
Forces, SEAL Delivery Team One, and SEAL Team 10's task was to
remove the trapped SEALS from danger. An enemy RPG struck the rescue
helicopter killing all 16 on board. Three SEALs on the ground died
and one SEAL, was wounded and was rescued. To Jeff, this mission was
a success, although it cost him his life, it saved the life of a
brother SEAL. Ever since the 4th Grade Jeff believed he would become
a SEAL, because they were the best. To his credit and memory he
achieved this goal graduating from Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL
class 191 in January 1994. The news of Jeff;s death struck hard in
the small communities of Corbett and Aims, Oregon where he went to
school and lived until graduation from High School. I knew him since
he was a child, growing up to be a marksman by shooting mice with a
BB gun. Practicing RECON by sneeking into Trout Creek Bible Camp,
and making away with some campers candy. Dedication, determination,
a sense of humor, that we all enjoyed and miss. He loved Golf, but I
was told he was the worst golfer there ever was, but that was his
game. With 10 years as a Navy SEAL, Jeff left this world to be with
the Almighty, who needed a good man, husband, father, son and
grandson.
--Anonymous , Mosier, OR (submitted on May 14, 2007)
SEAL
TWO Photo ALbums by Doc Rio
Gadgets
powered by Google
Gone but not forgotten…
December 19th, 2009 at 6:33 pmI had the pleasure of knowing John Connors when I was a midshipman in the NROTC program at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. This is to say that I knew of him and the kind of example that he set and also how those around him held him in such high regard. John was only a couple of years ahead of me in seniority but light years ahead of me and everyone else in just about every other way.
My first recollection of John was when he stuck his head in the office of the NROTC Unit’s Executive Officer. It was the summer before my senior year in high school and my father had brought me in for an informational interview. Commander Paul Bennett, a decorated riverboat driver of the Vietnam War, excused himself and spoke with John briefly before turning his attention back to my father and myself. More than two decades later, I still recall the respect and admiration in his voice when he said that it was John’s intention to become a SEAL and that he would go far.
My last recollection of John was approximately two years later just before his graduation. I was at a liquor store (it was college) with two of his closer friends. He bumped into us just as we were realizing that we did not have enough money for a keg which seemed so incredibly important at the time. Without knowing how much we needed, he reached into his wallet and said that he would cover the rest. Coughing up a five spot, he told us to have a great time and to forget about paying him back. And that was it.
A couple of years later, I was home on Christmas leave at a college friend’s house in Belmont, MA reading an article about an area SEAL who had died fighting in Panama. John’s grim official photo stared back at me and I knew that he was gone. I cut out that small article and placed it in a frame; carrying it with me in every stateroom, apartment, and home that I have lived in since.
I now live in Hebron, CT where I am a member of the VFW and the American Legion. Ironically, this past week (12/23/09) I was speaking with a new member who is an active duty SEAL and I asked if he had ever heard of John. He mentioned that his name was on a plaque somewhere.
I have carried his framed article with his official photo and some brass saluting a flag draped coffin that I like to think is his for a long time now. I only realize now that it has been for twenty years. I am going to send it back down to Virginia when my SEAL acquaintance returns in February with a $5 bill sealed to the reverse side. I am requesting that it be placed somewhere special to SEALs. John would not like this kind of attention and he most certainly deserves better but it is the best that a passing acquaintance can do. While I do not claim to have known John well or even reasonably well, I do know that God does not create many men like John. I thank God for having known him a little.
December 28th, 2009 at 1:03 pmI knew John when he was a student at WPI. I met through one of his roommates who was a friend of my family.
An incredibly smart and funny guy, John kept himself in great physical shape and did very well in a very tough school.
One cold winter’s day there was a big snowstorm, with very deep drifts. John jumped off a second-story balcony into a large drift. All we could hear was him laughing from inside the snow drift.
I was in California when my friend called to tell me that John had been killed in Panama.
About ten years ago our town created a memorial out of bricks that had people’s names carved into them. I bought one for LtJG John Patrick Connors, and every time I pass though the town square I stop to look at it, and consider that there was NOTHING “Junior Grade” about John.
May 29th, 2010 at 10:04 amLike Mark Stanovich, I too recall the events in 1989.
May 30th, 2010 at 8:05 amI came home to my home in Aiea over looking Pearl Harbor after a long mid-watch on Ford Island at Commander, Undersea Surveillance Pacific. Flipped on the TV, and they were showing Andrews Air Force Base, with the remains of a fallen SEAL being brought home. Some how, I heard the name John Connor and I immediately brought all my attention to the TV screen. I was in denial and I rushed to the telephone and called Kara Jacobson, Holy Cross ROTC 1987 grad, who was just up the hill in Pearl City living with Jim Hensler, HC ‘87. I told her to turn the TV on–every thing surreal.
When we were all stashed as Ensigns after graduation in May 1987 at the unit, we spent a lot of time with John, watching the NBA championships in the apartment that Kara and I were renting. John was working out and getting himself ready for BUDs, so, the times we went scorpion bowling at a local watering hole, he was the Duty Driver. I now have a photo of him and I on my desk which was taken at one of the Navy Birthday balls when we were midshipmen.
After John’s death, every time I have been promoted to date, I have remembered him at my promotion ceremonies, mentioning the fact that he gave his life for his country, hence not being afforded the same opportunities to be promoted as the rest of the HC ROTC Class of 1987.
John was a friend of mine who I met through his brother Joe who I played rugby with. I gave my son, born in 1990, the middle name John Patrick in honor of John. Every year on Memorial Day I take my son to the cemetery in Arlington, MA and visit John’s grave with my son and say a prayer and shed a tear. God Bless the Connors family and God Bless America!
May 30th, 2010 at 5:52 pm