![]() ![]() In 1974, inspired by the men in his unit, who were mostly from Underhill and Jericho, John moved his family into a "fixer-upper” on Pleasant Valley Road in Underhill - with a beautiful view of Mt. When he returned, John was invited to meet with president Richard Nixon at the White House and subsequently received a Bronze Star for his service in combat, but he was most proud of being able to bring every member of his unit home safely. John also instituted a program to ensure that every member of the unit learned to read and earned a GED while they were there. ![]() While in Vietnam, he fought to keep the local Indigenous peoples (the Montagnard) safe, as well as his own unit, "borrowing" construction material from the depot at Cam Ranh Bay to build bunkers and a village that withstood many enemy mortar and rocket attacks. John was very proud of the men in his unit and their service in the central highlands of Vietnam. In 1968, John was promoted to captain in the Vermont Army National Guard and was simultaneously deployed to Vietnam as the commander of the 131st Engineers, where he served for 18 months. John was a charter member of the Essex Rotary Club and enjoyed playing adult-league hockey, skiing, golfing and boating. John worked for Aetna Insurance before starting his lifelong career as a sales representative for the Lever Brothers Corporation, retiring in 1993, and as an officer in the Vermont National Guard. John and Jane were married on April 28, 1962, in Schenectady, N.Y., and initially settled in Essex, Vt. John graduated with a degree in economics in 1961. He also took a semester off to sail around the world in the Merchant Marines. Army Basic Training to become an armor crewman and then Officer Candidate School, where he earned a commission into the Army Corps of Engineers. He spent his summers working at Grand Teton National Park and attending U.S. He was active in ROTC and served as the president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. They would be inseparable for the next 62 years, passing away less than a year apart. It was at UVM that John met his best friend and the love of his life, Jane Templeton Wood. John left the New Jersey suburbs to attend the University of Vermont in 1956. As the youngest of three children, John was taught service, the joy of music, community responsibility and a strong work ethic - values that would shape and steer him for the rest of his life. John was born on November 20, 1938, in Englewood, N.J., to Evelyn Stiles and Hildegard (Henschke) Andrews. Army (retired), died on November 3, 2022, at his home in South Burlington surrounded by his children. ![]()
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