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On 15 October 1970 First Lieutenant <em>Jonathan Cameron Shine</em>, USMA Class of 1969, was a platoon leader with the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry (“Manchus”), 25th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam. He was on a reconnaissance operation in the Iron Triangle area when his platoon came under intense fire from a large enemy force. The citation for his posthumous Silver Star award reads in part: “During the contact, Lieutenant Shine was seriously wounded. Despite his wounds, he immediately began placing suppressive fire on the enemy positions, thus allowing his men to move to cover. When the enemy positions again engaged, Lieutenant Shine was fatally wounded.”</p>
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Jon was born in Bronxville, New York on 7 July 1947, the youngest of four children of George and Helen Shine. He graduated from Briarcliff High School in 1965 where he lettered in football and track four years, was an outstanding student, and president of the student body. There he also met Gail Morrison, whom he would later marry.</p>
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He entered West Point with the Class of 1969 and soon established himself as a standout cadet. His natural warmth, friendliness, and great sense of humor won him the abiding friendship of all who knew him. A member of Company G-l, Jon was company commander and cadet battalion commander during his first class year. He won academic stars during his plebe year, and never gave them up. He also was an outstanding gymnast, winning his major “A” on the high bar, and earning honors as Eastern Intercollegiate Highbar Champion during his first class year. He was, in sum, an all-around scholar, athlete, and leader, as well as a humble, caring, and very genuine friend.</p>
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Jon was also a man of God and a servant of men. During his plebe year, in response to the witness of Field House janitor-handyman Hank Rhinefield, Jon committed his life to Jesus Christ. Major Barry Willey, class of 1972, wrote recently, “I guess that is what I would like to see in the obituary—his deep, quiet, and very evident and effective faith in the Lord … and the tremendous eternal impact he had on so many lives.” Earlier, in an article for <em>Command</em> magazine, Barry wrote of Jon as the epitome of a “servant-leader,” and a model for Barry and many others.</p>
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Jon chose Infantry at graduation. After completion of Infantry Officers Basic Course, Airborne, and Ranger Schools, he returned to Briarcliff to marry Gail. They reported to Fort Carson where Jon was to get a little seasoning before going to Vietnam. Hearing of Jon’s death a year later, a number of his former comrades from Fort Carson flew to New York to attend the funeral, led by Colonel Ralph Puckett, his brigade commander. Jon had impressed the five times wounded veteran of Korea and Vietnam by his professionalism as a soldier, and by his Christian service; as he did four years at West Point, Jon had volunteered to teach Sunday school at the Carson chapel. The impact of Jon and Gail on Colonel Puckett’s teenage daughters had been profound, and eternal.</p>
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Jon never hesitated in his decision to volunteer for service in Vietnam. It was part of his heritage. His father was a veteran of WWII, and his grandfather of WWI. Both Jon’s brothers and his sister had served in Vietnam (and one brother remains among the missing in action.) In a letter to Gail from Vietnam he wrote, “We both know that my going is a matter of duty to our country, which has given us so much. This sacrifice is certainly a small one for the affluence and freedom we have enjoyed.” Had he known he would not return, he would not have chosen differently. Neither would his young wife. In a letter quoted by General Bradley on Veteran’s Day 1970, Gail wrote, “How unswervingly Jonathan believed in ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ and because of this I have not for one second felt bitterness but only pride, love, and faith … When I think of Jonathan, I sometimes picture him standing in the ‘long gray line,’ smiling at us, as if to say, ‘Keep going, there’s still lots to be done … and it’s all worth it!’ ”</p>
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Lieutenant Jonathan C. Shine was buried in the West Point Cemetery on 22 October 1970 after a service in the Old Cadet Chapel. His death at age 23 was a tragic loss for those who knew and loved him, and for the Army and nation he served. But for Jon, it was simply an early promotion from this life to the next. When he was young, Jon always tagged along after his two older brothers, wanting to do everything they did. We realized shortly after his death that he is now having the greatest adventure any of us will ever have—and he is having it first!! We miss him, but for Jon, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”</p>
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It is a fitting closing to this obituary to remember the words of one of Jon’s favorite hymns which his mother sang with tears on Maunday Thursday, a little over a year after his death:</p>
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So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,<br />
Till my trophies at last I lay down.<br />
I will cling to the old rugged cross<br />
And exchange it someday for a crown.</p>
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We miss him, but rejoice that he wears that crown today. A crown that was won for him by his Savior.</p>
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