John Colone: From darkness to life
By Judy Williams
We all have defining moments in our lives: the birth of a child, an illness, a marriage or divorce. John Colone’s moment came while he was serving in Vietnam. On February 19, 1968, he was pronounced dead and zipped into a body bag.
Colone grew up in the Pinckney area and was friends through sports with many Gregory and Stockbridge kids. “Back in those days Stockbridge High and Pinckney High were about the same size, ” he explained.
After graduating from Pinkney, he enrolled in college. “I attended Cleary College and worked for General Motors at the same time,” he recalled. “I was struggling in college because of my long working hours, and one day, after being called into the Dean’s office to discuss my grades, I decided to quit school and join the service. I enlisted in the Army on June 11, 1966. A few days later I was in Howell, Michigan, boarding a bus with other young men on our way to basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.”
Colone shook his head and added, “Would you believe Cleary College invited me back to give the commencement address in 2001?”
Colone shipped out for Vietnam in September 1967, he said. “We were sent by boat. It was a long trip taking 27 days. Our squad was attached to the 101st Airborne, ‘The Band of Brothers.’ I had the rank of sergeant. My squad trained together for seven months. Our missions were what was referred to as a search and destroy. In general, if there was a problem, we were sent. There was one period of time that we were in the jungle for 67 days. That means no showers for 67 days.” Colone wore a faraway look. “There are no words that can explain the closeness of our group.”
When asked about his most memorable part of service, Colone gave a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Then he began to speak about the day he was pronounced dead.
“The day was hot and humid as were all days in Vietnam. We were sent out to patrol in this rice patty near the town of Ho Chi Minh’s birth place, Phan Thiet. That’s where he taught school, lived for many years and where the Communist Party started in Vietnam. Phan Thiet is right on the coastline. At that time Vietnam was mainly a bunch of little villages. We were on another search and destroy mission.”
“We had just crossed the Ca Ty River when we started taking rounds from across the rice patty. We took cover and let the planes fly over to drop bombs on the Viet Cong to clear the way. We received the all clear. I started out to get a wounded soldier. The next thing I knew, I was hit in the leg. Then I couldn’t make my arm work. I couldn’t hold my rifle. I had been hit in the arm and went down.”
“Don, a member of my squad started out to help me. I waved him back, but he kept coming. He put a tourniquet on my arm. Before we could get out of there, Don was shot and fell on me.”
“He said to me, ‘I don’t think we’re going to make it. If you do, tell my mother I love her.’ I pushed Don off from me and tried to take cover. The next shot hit my helmet, took off part of my ear, and left a vein hanging out of my neck.”
“Later, I remember hearing someone say, ‘Colone is dead.’ I couldn’t respond. Later, I woke up, and it was all dark. I was in a body bag. I started trying to move, and I rolled off what I thought might have been logs. I was picked up and moved back on top. I started moving again and rolled off again. This time someone opened the bag. I was in the morgue. I had been pronounced dead and had a toe tag.”
Colone paused and added, “On that day we lost 17 men out of our squad of 23. My parents had already been notified of my demise. Eventually, I was able to contact my parents through the Military Auxiliary Radio System, MARS.”
Serving with Colone in the same platoon from April 1967 through Vietnam was Gary Purcell of Inverness, Florida. In the early 70s, Purcell came to Pinckney to visit Colone’s parents. Purcell wanted them to know that he was with their son when he died. Colone’s parents said their son was alive, but Purcell assumed they were in denial.
“How could he be alive?” he asked them. “I was holding him when he died.”
But Colone’s parents insisted their son was alive, so Purcell described his friend’s injuries. “Half of his neck was shot off. You could see the veins and stuff pulsating. I held him with his head laying in my lap, and he was bleeding all over. We knew he wasn’t going to make it. Then, there was no pulse, no heartbeat. Colone was put in a body bag and loaded on the chopper with the other dead and injured.”
To prove their son was still alive, Colone’s parents telephoned him, so Purcell could speak with him.
During this interview, Purcell added, “Our unit had to fall back and dig in until the next day. Our medic came up to me to ask where I was hit. I hadn’t been hit. I was just covered in Colone’s blood.”
After Colone was discovered as alive, he was stabilized in a field hospital and then moved for transfer to a hospital in Japan. “On the day I was transferred to the airport to be evacuated to Japan the Viet Cong overran the airport,” he said. “I’m laying on a stretcher in a bunker waiting to be moved to a plane, and a nurse hands me a handgun and tells me ‘good luck.’ I couldn’t have used the gun if I had to. I didn’t have the strength, and I kept passing out.” The Viet Cong were run off, and Colone was loaded on the flight for Japan.
While in the hospital in Japan, a soldier was going to the store and asked Colone if he would like anything.
“I gave him some money and asked him to get a bottle of bourbon,” Colone said. “He swore me to secrecy, so he wouldn’t get in trouble for getting a patient alcohol. I agreed. He brought the bottle back and put it on my nightstand that was to the right of my bed.” But Colone’s right arm was elevated in a cast. “I must have spent three hours trying to reach that bottle with my left hand. Finally, I got the bottle and had to open it using my teeth. Now that the bottle was open, I set it back on the stand just as an earthquake hit. Everything shook. I helplessly watched as the bottle wiggled off the stand and smashed on the floor.”
After Japan, Colone was sent to a V.A. hospital in Denver. In total, he spent 22 months recovering in hospitals.
March 25, 1969, Colone married the love of his life, Anne. They have two daughters, Laura and Michelle.
While recovering in Denver, Colone worked in a Dodge dealership as part of a job-training program. He worked his way up to manager, and in 1974, the Colones moved to Alpena, Michigan, where he worked at a car dealership.
“I received a phone call on Christmas of 1977 from a guy in Pinckney that I’ve known my entire life,” Colone said. “He owned a car dealership in town and wanted to sell it and the parts inventory. I told Bugg’s (the owner’s nickname) that we were going to be in Pinckney the next day to see Anne’s and my parents and would stop by to discuss the deal. With a handshake and the promise of paying Buggs $1,000 a month for 60 months and a pick-up truck to use for one year, I became the owner of the Pinckney Chrysler, Dodge dealership.”
Colone owned this dealership from 1978 to 1999. Currently, he serves as the self-proclaimed mayor of Hell. He owns Screams Ice Cream, Hell’s Mini-golf Course, the Hell Wedding Chapel, and Hell’s Canoe & Kayak Rental. He often creates special events to promote the area.
Colone has made helping veterans a mission. He served on the Livingston County Veterans Board from 2004 to 2016. In 2009, the Livingston County Commissioners decided to dissolve the board, and Colone led the fight to continue it. He was instrumental in getting a .20th mill passed to help veterans. In 1994, Colone, along with four others from his squad, started sending flowers to the gravesites of members who did not come home. This program has now grown to an adopt a gravesite program that encompasses the entire 3/506 platoon.
Every February 19, Colone meets several of his fellow veterans at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. There, they place flowers by the panels of service men and women they knew. In 1999, Colone donated $100 per Livingston veteran who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country to use for building the Michigan Vietnam Monument. Plus, he supports STIGGY, a group that buys dogs for veterans.
When asked what advice he would give to the youth of our generation, Colone replied, “Don’t lose your social skills. You need to have face to face discussions, not just texting on your phone.”
