John Steven Mihalko

JOHN S. MIHALKO JUNE 6, 1947 - SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 John S. Mihalko was born at the Morristown, NJ hospital on June 6, 1947. He was the third child and the first son of Stephen and Agnes Mihalko. John idolized his two older sisters, Marge and Mary Ann. Two more siblings followed John†™s birth. Stevie Jr. was born a year after John and a few years later, Marci was born. John†™s dad, Stephen, worked multiple shifts at the Whippany, NJ paper mill to support his family. His mother, Agnes, was a coal miner†™s daughter who grew up in the cold hills of Winburne, Pennsylvania. She worked as a waitress at the local Whippany diner to supplement the family†™s income. Both parents came from modest backgrounds and worked hard to provide for their family. Stephen and Agnes kept their marriage a secret initially because they couldn†™t afford to live together; they both remained living with their families. They were amazing role models for their children. Stephen didn†™t have the opportunity to go to high school, yet he was an avid reader and learner; he educated himself so well that he was a welcomed member of the Hanover Township School Board. The family lived modestly but well. Stephen and Agnes (literally) built a home for their family. Stephen later helped build the town†™s American Legion on the same street. Their street was renamed †œLegion Place†�, and both parents spent the rest of their lives there. They had a strong sense of family and were well known in their community. John learned discipline as a result of their modest lifestyle. He stashed his coins until they added up to dollars; he had a drawer where his snacks were kept (and God pity the child that got into them), he bought a month†™s worth of beer at a time and knew how to make it last. He was happy with †œthe simple things in life†� and didn†™t need expensive vacations or fancy cars. John also learned to love deeply and be loyal. At the Legion Place house a four year old neighbor - Joe Podejdenic (i.e. †œPoje†�) talked five year old John into sharing his French fries. The two of them became lifelong friends and shared adventures for sixty three more years. Once John started school, the two of them met another boy, Jack Yauch. The three of them became like brothers and helped one another throughout their lives. John†™s father died on the day before John†™s tenth birthday, Stephen was only 45 years old. This changed John†™s life in many ways and for the rest of his life he didn†™t celebrate his own birthday (though he tolerated those of us who did). Agnes was a young widow with five children and a mortgage on a newly built house. John learned the value of family and sacrifice from this. As soon as they were old enough, each of the children worked and paid their mother room and board. Agnes took on more hours at the diner. Everyone pitched in. During the Vietnam War, as the eldest male, John was helping to support his family and originally had a draft deferment as the head of the household. However, when John†™s little brother Stevie was 18, John passed the deferment to Steve and John was drafted into service in Vietnam. He was assigned to †œRecon†� in the 101st Airborne. He and his team were helicoptered into enemy territory where they looked to find out how strong the enemy was and what they were doing. John was the †œpoint man†� for the Bravo team- he walked down the trails first and searched for danger- and was proud that none of the men were injured on his watch. John experienced many things which changed him forever during his year in Vietnam. On the good side, he and his team developed lifelong friendships; they had lived together for a year under desperate circumstances. They also were proud to have tapped North Vietnamese communication wires. Behind enemy lines, they monitored the wires for days which provided key information to our side. But they also were forever scarred. They saw medical helicopters shot down, recovered burnt bodies, and took part in one of the bloodiest battles of the war: Firebase Ripcord. Among other awards, John earned four Bronze Stars for his brave actions in Vietnam. He was also shot in the chest with machine gun fire and lived to tell about it. Although the rounds knocked him down, he was wearing bandoleers of ammunition across his chest. They stopped the enemy†™s bullets before they entered his chest, and John survived without a scratch. As a result of his service, John became an ardent supporter of our soldiers and spent the rest of his life helping veterans and educating children about soldiers. After the service John returned home to NJ and to his job as Warehouse Manager at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and he married his first wife, Jane. After the marriage broke up, John moved to Colorado to make a fresh start. Eventually, there he met Kathy and they fell in love. John and Kathy moved to his family street, Legion Place, in Whippany New Jersey where they were married on October 18, 1980. They spent several years together before John fell in love all over again, when his daughter, Sarah Lynn was born on July 1,1984. Love again struck when his son, James Edward, was born on October 27, 1989. John changed diapers, played with, and sang Beatles songs to both of his children. He made sure that both of his children understood honor, loyalty, honesty, and the NY Giants. John also became deeply involved with veteran organizations at that time. He became a life member of the American Legion. He was one of the founders of the †œRipcord Association†� for the veterans who took part in that bloody battle. John hosted the Association†™s first reunion which was held in Whippany, NJ. John was the newsletter editor and gave many hours to getting the organization growing. He was instrumental in putting noted war author Keith Nolan in touch with many of the battle†™s participants. Keith published †œRipcord, Screaming Eagles Under Siege†� in 2000. Eventually, a movie about the battle was made, several news organizations did feature stories and the battle was also featured in a segment of Oliver North†™s show. John and family moved to Colorado in April, 1991. John found a job at Archer†™s Decorative Glass as the Warehouse Manager and there he was †œadopted†� by the Schmidt family. John worked with them for twenty years, and he loved showing the †œyoung guys†� how †œthe old man†� could out work them. Sarah and James each had their turn working their tails off at Archer†™s; it was a big part of John†™s life and the people he worked with at Archers became a part of John†™s family. Also, almost immediately upon arriving in Colorado, John and his buddy Poje discovered VFW Post 4171 in Golden, Colorado. John loved the people he met there and it was his second home for the next twenty three years. He was the Post Commander four times and worked hard to help other veterans by keeping the Post vibrant and solvent. John†™s family expanded again when in 2007, his daughter became Mrs. David Garner and he was welcomed into the Garner family. John considered himself a very lucky man. He had a comfortable life, he had many people who loved him, he had a family he was very proud of, he had the opportunity to help other veterans, and he felt fortunate to have the extraordinary friends who became family to him. He said he had everything that he had ever hoped for in life. John died peacefully in his sleep at his home on September 18, 2015. We lost an outstanding father, husband, brother and friend that day.