Class of 1963

"John Peter Skoro, Jr"
"Animal"
d 1966

  Service
United States Air Force		  
Highest Rank
1st Lieutenant		 Years of Service
3		 Combat
Yes
Click for:
Click for:



Biography as of: Oct 29, 2013

Unlike most of us, John Skoro seemed to enjoy Doolie Summer. He was asked why nothing at the Academy seemed to bother him. His answer: he grew up as a Serb in Gary, IN. In high school he'd run track and cross-country and earned 4 letters as a swimmer. At the Academy, he discovered a new sport - fencing. He soon earned a new nickname, Animal, for his cat-like reflexes and killer instinct with a blade.

During our 4 years, with the likes of John, Bill Ebert, Dom Martinelli, and Warren Manchess, the Academy fencing team ended with a winning streak of 39-0. He was captain our senior year, earned All American honors in the saber, and was named "Fencer of the Year" at the NCAA Nationals.
 
Bill Ebert recalls those years. "We all remember John for his unpredictable antics and incredible skill as a saber fencer. He's the only person I remember making Coach Toth laugh out loud and then scold John in his strong Hungarian accent for being silly."

In pilot training at Reese AFB, TX, his instincts and reflexes made him a highly skilled pilot. His silliness, however, got John kicked out of pilot training. Unlike the stern Coach Toth, the powers-that-be at Reese didn't laugh out loud, then scold. Reports came in one night that he'd flown his T-38 at fairly high speed down the main street of Lubbock, TX, so he could buzz his girlfriend's house. He quickly became the assistant club officer at Reese.

John hired a lawyer and eventually the Air Force decided John's skills fit being a fighter jock better than a career club officer. He reentered UPT a few months later, graduated higher than he would have in 65-A, and got his dream assignment, an F-100 Super Sabre. "So the cat lands on his feet, aggressive as ever," according to former roommate, Bob Winegar.

Bob's F-4 Squadron opened Phan Rang AB, South Vietnam in 1966. John's F-100 squadron deployed there soon after. They lived in nearby hootches and renewed their close friendship - but not for long. On 13 September, John's F-100 crashed while attacking an automatic weapons site near Qui Nhon, SVN. One report said the F-100 climbed to about 4,000 feet after being hit, but John did not make any radio calls or attempt to eject. Later Bob flew over the crash site several times. He saw a long scrape of "well over 100 yards, maybe 2 or 3 times that" before the plane broke up. Bob got the impression John had pressed his attack too low to successfully pull out. "He (John) had a reputation for getting close to his work. I had the feeling a few hundred more hours on the learning curve might have mixed enough caution with his aggressiveness that we'd still have him today."

While taking off the next day from Phan Rang, Gene Knudsen's F-4C had a control failure and crashed. John and Gene were buried at the Academy cemetery on 27 September 1966.

I was here, John. I remember you often. Such a waste. You were a hell of a fighter pilot.     Ellery Voge

I met Johnny Skoro during BCT. . . .I always looked forward to seeing him because it just didn't seem to be getting to him like it was most of us. He seemed to be enjoying himself!     Robert F. Winegar '63, M.D. & P.A.

(Much of this information comes from the eulogy written for Checkpoints by Bob Winegar)



Click for:
Click for: