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John Owen Sommercamp, Sr
died of a heart attack on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 in Sacramento, CA. Services for John
were held at
11:00 am on Saturday, June 28th at the Village Community Church (6225 Paseo Delicias) in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.
Reception at Marty's home followed the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations
may be sent to:
Solana Beach Little League, John Sommercamp Memorial Fund, at PO Box 181 in
Solana Beach, California 92075; or Village Presbyterian Church, Military Outreach Ministry,
John Sommercamp Memorial Fund at PO Box 704 in Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
[Provides support for the wives and families of service men and women overseas.]
Condolences may be sent to Marty Sommercamp at 1016 Santa Florencia, Solana Beach, CA 92075-8314,
(858) 481-8314.
Saturday, 28 June, eleven 1961 classmates gathered in Rancho Santa Fe, CA to say
good-bye to John. It was a beautiful service of worship in
thanksgiving for his life. Members of the family gave moving tributes to him
and we all can be proud of his legacy that remains with his wife, children, and
grandchildren. After the church service we attended a reception at the
Sommercamp home in Solana Beach.
Standing: Goldtrap, Brady,
Mucho, Randolph, Adams, Nevins, Zaldo.
Seated: Jones, Barry, Campbell, Brooks. Remembrances:
Class Memorial Pages\K-2 John Sommercamp.pdfJohn, we all reported to the
“man in the red sash” that second day of July 1957. Eight of us were assigned to
the same squad in 2nd New Cadet Company. Among them were John
Sommercamp, Ed Jones, Gene La Borne, Alan Lubke, Sam Marsh, Gabe Gabriel and two
others. We learned how to do Squads Right, Right by Squads. We learned to help
each other. We each had something to contribute. John, you impressed us all with
his physical abilities, your musical interests and dogged determination. You
were always upbeat. You were always ready to lend a hand. As all of us did, you
lost some weight that summer, but you were already so solid that you did not
have much to lose. Fortunately you found the Corps Squad tables when the
academic year started and put it back on as you lettered in C Squad Football.
Also with Reorganization Week, we parted ways as you headed to K-2 and I went to
D-1. Over the next four years we would get thrown together on a class trip, at
Camp Buckner or a football trip where I tagged along as a Cheerleader. John, my
name may be Gabriel, but you were the man who blew the horn. Now the bugle will
blow taps once more, but not from your lips. Be thou at peace as we grip hands
through the shadows.
Gabe
Assembly/Taps Memorial Article:
No.
23698 • 4 Feb 1939
-18
Jun
2003 • Died
in Sacramento, CA.
·Cremated
John Owen
Sommercamp's
life
was
notable
for continual
service
to others
-
his
family,
his
classmates,
his
military
comrades,
his
many
friends,
and total strangers. John personified
the code
of
Air Force
Air
Sea
Rescue,
"That
others
may
live."
Born
to
Margaret
and Peyton Sommercamp in Redlands,
CA,
John
had
one
younger sibling,
Jo Ann.
John
grew up
in
Beaumont,
CA,
and
graduated
from
Beaumont
High
School,
where
his academic accomplishments were complemented by even greater
achievements
on the
football
and baseball
fields.
In
1956,
his
athletic
prowess as a
running
back
for the
Beaumont High
School
"Cougars"
was
recognized
with
a
first
team
selection
to
the
All
Southern
California Football
Team. Aggressive recruitment
for
college-level
football programs
followed,
with
Stanford
and
West
Point
emerging
as
leading
contenders.
With
the
influence
of
Coach
Earl
"Red"
Blaik,
West
Point
won
this
recruiting
battle.
John
entered
West
Point
in
July
1957
with the Class of
1961.
Many years
after
graduation,
John questioned
classmates as to whether he
had
ever
officially
entered
West
Point and,
therefore,
might be
serving under false
pretences.
With typical
wit,
he argued
that
continual
interruptions
from
numerous
upperclassmen
on
the
first day of
Beast
Barracks
prevented him
from
ever
completing
the
required report:
"Sir,
New
Cadet
Sommercamp
reports
to the First
Sergeant of
Second
New
Cadet Company
for the
first
time
as ordered."
Throughout
his
cadet years
in
K-2 and
for
the
rest
of
his life,
John was
always cheerful,
outgoing,
reliable, and tenacious.
When
a
Plebe year knee
injury
ended
his
football
playing career
and
his
dream of scoring
in
an Army-Navy game,
John
continued
to
actively
participate
in
football
as a coach
for
the
Army
B
Squad team. John shared his
musical talent, singing
in
both the Cadet
Glee
Club
and
the
Chapel
Choir.
Those
who experienced John's
amiable
nature
and
knew
him
well
at
West
Point
would remain
his
lifelong
friends.
John
was
commissioned
in the
U.S.
Air
Force
and initially assigned
to
study
meteorology at
New
York
University.
Typical
of
John's
kindness to
strangers was
his
insistence
on
visiting an NYU cafeteria
worker who
had been scalded in an
accident.
John knew her
only
from
the cafeteria
line
but
went to
see
her
in
the
hospital
and,
of course,
cheered her up. Also,
during his
time
at NYU,
John indulged his
love
of
trains and
took
a
three-day
train
trip
home
over the Christmas
break.
Next in his
developmental
training,
John
earned
Navigator
Wings
at
James Connolly
Air Force
Base
in
Waco,
TX. Subsequent
assignments
with
the
Military Airlift Command involved
continual C-130
supply
missions
between the U.S. and
Viet Nam. John particularly disliked the
return flights
when his
C-130 transported the remains
of fallen comrades.
Beginning in
late
1966,
John's
flight
missions
became
more
challenging
and much,
more
dangerous.
Flying out of
Da
Nang with the
crew of an
HU-16
Albatross,
John's beat was
Yankee
Station off the coast of
North
Viet
Nam.
The
mission
was to
rescue
downed
airmen. One memorable
day,
his crew made a
water
landing in
Haiphong harbor
and
picked
up
a
downed Air Force
pilot.
Under
fire
from
shore
batteries,
they
taxied
for about
a
mile across
the
harbor
to
pick
up
a
downed Navy
pilot.
Except
to admit
that missions
such
as
this
made
him
a
bit
nervous,
John related little
about
this event
for which
he
was
awarded
one
of two
Distinguished Flying
Crosses for
heroic
duty
in
Viet Nam.
In 1971,
John
earned
his
MBA
from
San
Diego
State
University,
which
led
to
several
assignments
with
the Air
Force
Systems
Command.
Of
note was
his
service
as
project
manager
for
anti-satellites
in
the
Space
Division
of
Systems Command.
In 1981,
John
retired
from
the
Air Force and he and
his
family
moved to Solana
Beach, CA.
John
was
blessed
with
a close
and
supportive
family.
His
mother,
father,
and
sister
came
to
West
Point
for
Plebe
Christmas
in
1957.
In a 1963 Long
Beach,
CA,
ceremony,
John married
Marty
Cleveland,
a
"Navy
brat."
'That
same
year,
John's sister
Jo
Ann extended the
West Point connection,
marrying
Neil Nydegger
'62.
John
and Marty
had
two sons,
John,
Jr.
and
James.
John
was very
proud
of
his sons and particularly
their
athletic
achievements.
He
enthusiastically
related
to
friends
John's soccer
achievements and James'
football
and baseball
accomplishments. John
also
spent
countless
hours
coaching sports for John,
Jr.,
James and
their friends. His
sons
remember John
as
follows:
"There
are
many
great
men in
life,
great
for different
reasons.
Dad
was
great because
he
had
character.
Not
character in
the sense
of personality,
although he certainly
did
have
plenty of
that.
His character
was
de
fined
by
what was
within.
He
lived
a
good
life.
He
did the right
things.
‘That
was really
the
only
option
in his
book -
to
always
do
the right
thing.
'Do unto others
as you would have
them
do
unto
you.’
he
would
say. It's
what
he
lived by.
He instilled
that
in his
sons,
his
friends and his
family.
He
was rarely
mean,
mostly
nice. He was kind
and
soft and willing
to listen.
He was
responsible
and a
hard
worker.
His
morals
and
his
values
were second
to none.
He
rarely
faltered,
and
he
seldom failed
to
achieve
any goal.
Strange
that
we
never
saw him
really fail,
for
failure
is something that
most
of
us
frequently encounter.
Sure
he
had
his
shortcomings,
but
out-and-out
failure
was seldom
experienced by
our
Dad.
The
reason
for
this,
we
believe,
was simple:
one
does
nor
often
fail if one
is
truly
trying
to
do
the
right thing."
In
June
of
2003,
John
made
a
trip
to
Sacramento
to
visit
his
sons
and
their
families.
While
on
that
trip,
he
died
suddenly
and
unexpectedly
from
a cardiac
arrhythmia. Fortunately,
he
had
happily spent the
previous
day
playing with his
grandchildren
and
enjoying
time
with
his
sons.
John,
your
family
and many
friends
miss
you
and
your classmates
salute
you.
Well done.
Be thou
at peace.
-Ed
Jones,
Ken
Siegenthaler,
Larry
Noble,
Neil
Nydegger,
Gene
Witherspoon,
and
Don
Lionetti
TAPS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007
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