PEARL HARBOR VETERAN LLOYD JOHN, 86, DIES
From "The Tulsa World," Thursday, April 14, 2005
Section A, Page 13
Lloyd George Pershing John, a Pearl Harbor survivor who retired from Reading & Bates Oil Co., died Monday. He was 86.
A graveside service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday at Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of Moore's Eastlawn Funeral Home.
John was born June 13, 1918, in Hyde Park, Pa., and graduated from high school in 1936.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940 and was sent to Bellows Field on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Bellows Field was a small airstrip for fighter and reconnaissance airplanes. John was assigned to the engine overhaul and maintenance shops.
When the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor started on Dec. 7, 1941, John was stationed at the end of the runway in case Bellows Field was attacked. He and four others were to stop any Japanese planes from landing.
In June 1942, John was sent to Christmas Island, where he joined a fighter squadron. That fall, he was moved to Guadalcanal, where he remained until December 1943.
He later was sent to Biloxi, Miss., and from there to Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma City.
He was transferred to Coffeyville, Kan., and then to Indiantown Gap, Pa. He was discharged Sept. 3, 1945, the day after the Japanese signed unconditional surrender papers.
After his discharge from the Army Air Forces, John attended the University of Tulsa, working part time at Jones and Laughlin Supply while attending classes.
After graduation, he worked for Texaco and later as a purchaser for Reading and Bates.
John is survived by a sister, Mary Ann Stuchel of Carson, City, Nev.
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