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<p><em>John William Medusky </em>was the son of proud immigrants, John and Elizabeth (Schmatz) Medusky. The actual family name of Mioduszewski was changed to Medusky when John’s father (as a child) and his family came to the United States in 1892 from the small village of Dubow in eastern Poland, near the current border with Belarus. </p>
<p>Born in Milwaukee, WI on March 20, 1915, John was introduced to the military lifestyle early on, as his father was one of the first Navy aviators, serving in World War I and II. As a result, John spent his early years at various military installations in Pensacola, FL; Honolulu, HI; and San Diego, CA. As a youngster in Hawaii, he sold newspapers in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. In addition to relocations required by the military, the Medusky family spent many vacations traveling throughout the United States by car with a homemade campervan. </p>
<p>John graduated from San Diego Senior High School in 1931. He subsequently attended a preparatory school in San Francisco and entered the United States Miliary Academy in July 1935. While at West Point, John excelled in math and horsemanship. Graduating near the top of his class as a Star Man on June 12, 1939, John was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. </p>
<p>In 1942, John married his lifelong wife, Ruth Olive Blum, in Multnomah, OR, with whom he had two children, daughter Carol (Medusky) Curcio and son Jan (USMA 1972). Due to his deployment to Europe during World War II, he did not meet his daughter until she was 3 years old, as she was born in 1944. </p>
<p>With the December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and the United States’ entry into World War II, John changed his branch to Infantry and volunteered for the 82nd Airborne Division (“All American”). In January 1944, he fought in the Battle of Anzio in Italy. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, as a captain with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (“Red Devils”), John was part of the Normandy invasion (Operation Overlord). His mission, along with Task Force Raff, was to secure landing zones for the gliders that arrived later that day. With the 82nd, he subsequently fought in Holland (Operation Market Garden) and in the defense of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge. </p>
<p>Post World War II, John earned a Master of Science degree at the University of California, Berkely and was subsequently assigned to the United States Military Academy teaching math. With tensions developing in Korea, in 1950 and 1951, he served with X Corps as headquarters commandant, participating in the Inchon landing. He subsequently served in the General Headquarters of the Far East Command and in 1952-53 as an infantry battalion commander in Japan. Later assignments were at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA; the Pentagon (Washington, DC); and as G-3 (operations officer) of Fifth Army Headquarters in Chicago, IL. John retired from his 23-year diverse Army career as a colonel in 1962, having served in a wide range of assignments. </p>
<p>After earning a Master of Science in technology degree from the University of Florida in 1963, John and his wife moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where he taught math at Broward College. He was known among his students as the instructor who actually made math fun. While teaching, John earned his Doctor of Education degree.</p>
<p>Throughout John’s adult life, he was an avid poker player, realizing that you didn’t have to have the best hand to win (which he most often did). Reportedly, he supported himself for a few years prior to entering West Point by such means. In later retirement years in Florida, his favorite hobbies were fishing (deep sea fishing with his 58-foot yacht and freshwater fishing in the Everglades) and his two Kerry Blue Terrier dogs.</p>
<p>John and his wife spent their final years in San Diego near their daughter, Carol. Upon passing, on April 18, 1999, John was interred at the West Point Cemetery, where he was later joined by his wife. </p>
<p>John William Medusky was a man of integrity whose character embodied resilience, optimism, discipline and self-reliance. Like many others of the Greatest Generation, his life reflected the core values of Duty, Honor, Country. </p>
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