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<p><em>John William Rantala</em> was born on May 9, 1944 to John Rantala Sr. and Helen Virginia (Seidel) in Grand Rapids, MN. John’s father was a high school teacher in northern Illinois, during which time John played football for North Chicago High School, and later gymnastics for Waukegan High School. By the time John entered West Point, his father had taken the rest of the family along on a USAID assignment to establish new Technical Training Schools in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Laos. </p>
<p>John entered the United States Military Academy with the West Point Class of 1966 on July 2, 1962. John was a solid member of the USMA Gymnastics Team for all four years, especially in the high bar. Classmate Paul Roggenkamp and John were competitors for the high bar positions. They loved and respected each other as teammates and classmates and spent many hours in the gym honing and improving their skills. They battled hard on the days of the competition to win or place as high as possible for the team.</p>
<p>John had a rather stern outward appearance, seemed somewhat gruff, and had a deep voice, masking an extremely witty, interesting, engaging, kind, and generous personality. He also loved practical jokes. The James Bond movie Goldfinger had an evil character (Oddjob) who would behead people with his steel-brimmed bowler hat. John would imitate OddJob by throwing his cadet service hat at unsuspecting cadets in front of him in Central Area while enroute to or from classes. He did it so often that it caused the brim to split and eventually tear off. Thereafter, he wore the hat without a brim, akin to the hats worn by USSR sailors, until an officer observed his brimless hat and put an end to it. In firstie year, John, of Finnish descent, was invited by mistake to a dinner honoring his Italian-American classmates in Highland Falls, no doubt because of his last name. One of the sponsors at the dinner, shrugged it off with a joke about differing ethnic pronunciations </p>
<p>of “Rantala.”</p>
<p>John selected Infantry as his branch upon graduation. Like many of his classmates, he served two tours in Vietnam, initially 1967-68 with the 9th Infantry Division and the 4th Infantry Division, and then, 1969-70, with the 199th Infantry Brigade. John continued to serve in various assignments at Fort Richardson, AK and at Fort Bragg, NC until 1980. John then joined the U.S. Army Reserve and eventually retired in 1993. </p>
<p>In 1971 John and other classmates were attending the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, GA. John, his cousin Bob, and other classmates were part of the unofficial “Singles Club.” They organized weekly dances at the local Elks Club; outings to Calloway Gardens in Harris County, Georgia; and activities in various venues (skiing, camping, snorkeling in Florida, etc.). In addition, to satisfy his love of history, John and his cousin Bob would travel around Georgia visiting many Civil War places and small towns, especially Andersonville.</p>
<p>Most of all John loved the outdoors. John’s Dad built a family cabin on Gull Lake in northern Minnesota. There was nothing more rewarding to family and friends, as proper Finnish-blooded Americans, than a visit to “The Cabin,” with its authentic Finnish wood-fired sauna, all family-built. “The Cabin” is still maintained and enjoyed mostly by the next generation.</p>
<p>After transferring to the Army Reserve in 1980, John received an MBA from the University of Minnesota in 1984. With that in hand he turned an interest and hobby in wooden boats into a more serious endeavor. He received formal training in and hung out his shingle as a marine surveyor (akin to home inspector). </p>
<p>He culminated his service in the Reserve after serving as a battalion commander. After retirement, John spent the rest of his active life assessing, repairing, acquiring, storing, and occasionally selling wooden boats and out-of-production specialized parts. Along with that he indulged his lifelong appreciation of older British sports cars.</p>
<p>John supported his community. He was a longstanding member of the Shriners organization, including president in his last few years. He marched in the May Shriner parades through the Midwest. In addition, he worked at the Shriner Circus and other activities for the benefit of the Shriner Hospital. </p>
<p>John was not a “loner,” but he liked being alone. John was a man of few words, but serious action. Besides his love for wooden boats, John loved to hunt or more precisely, loved to go on hunting trips for the camaraderie. While he was stationed in Alaska he hunted Dall ram. He also enjoyed the companionship of dogs and had a succession of black Labrador retrievers.</p>
<p>John was kind and faithful to his friends. He was a “one of a kind” individual but also well suited to fulfill the country’s requirements for officers who understood and were faithful to her needs. He understood what he was doing and why. He did not believe this precluded him from having some fun when possible, and he did.</p>
<p>Comments from classmates:</p>
<p><em>I was not privileged to serve with him during active duty, but our competitive spirit and discipline which we developed in the gym stayed with us to this day. John was incredibly responsible and caring. </em></p>
<p><em>I remember John as quite competent and skilled in his athletic abilities and one who was a real gentleman. Kind and earnest, a loyal friend and a rare breed and someone with whom you would want to share a foxhole. </em></p>
<p><em>— John (Buz) Buczacki, Classmates, Family and Friends</em></p>
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