FAMILY & FRIEND VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS

John Charles Hofmann followed in the footsteps of family veterans of earlier wars and enlisted in September of 1960.  It was an opportunity for this recent high school graduate to mature, get a sense of direction and possibly take the first steps towards a career as a law enforcement officer.  The world was at peace, somewhat, with the Korean War having ended in 1953 and the hostilities in French Indochina forcing only a non-combat presence of US troops in the area since 1950.  Escalation in Vietnam was in its early stages in 1960 but fortunately for John combat units would not be deployed until 1965.

 

His journey began, as it did for many, at New Jersey’s Fort Dix.  After basic training the road took him to Fort Gordon in Georgia and then on to deployment to Europe as part of an elite team of Military Police.  Little did he know that this would take him to the heart of the most intense conflict of the Cold War period at that time second only to the Korean conflict.  During his active duty John Hofmann would have the distinction of serving under two of the greatest Presidents in the twentieth century – Dwight David Eisenhower and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

 

This is his story.