After a brief illness, John Roe McAdams passed away on July 23, 2003 in Meridian MS. He was born the son of an Alabama sharecropper in 1916 and grew-up in the fields of east Mississippi. In May 1937 he sold his prized .22 rifle to fund his trip to New Orleans to join the Marines. He served in the Carribean on the USS New York rising to the rank of Sergeant during his first tour as a communication specialist. His first training was with semaphore flags and morse code. He entered WWII as a S/Sgt with the First MarDiv, seeing action in the landing and capture of Guadalcanal, in eastern New Guinea, and Cape Gloucester. He was appointed WO in 1944 and CWO/Gunner while serving in Tientsin, China. He went on to serve in Korea and retired from active duty in 1958 as the communications chief at the USMC Cold Weather Training Base in Bridgeport, CA. He went on to serve another decade as a CA peace officer before returning to MS to retire. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Trudy, his daughter Barbara Shafer of Kansas City MO, sons Michael of Sacramento CA and Bill (former USMC & USNR),of Demopolis AL; 8 grandchilren; and 4 great grandchildren.
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