John Fer was born in San Pedro California, the son of Italian and Croatian parents.  He attended both Catholic and public schools, graduating from San Pedro High School.  He attended the University of Southern California for three years after which he received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

 

Following pilot training he flew B-47s jet bombers in the Strategic Air Command, standing nuclear alert both in the United States and overseas.  As the Vietnam War expanded he transitioned to the EB-66C and was deployed to Thailand to fly electronic surveillance and countermeasures missions over North Vietnam.  It was on his fifty-fourth mission over the north on February 4, 1967, while flying in a highly defended area near Hanoi, that he was shot down by surface to air missiles and became prisoner of the North Vietnamese communists for more than six years.

 

As a POW John lived in the same rooms and camps with many brave and talented POWs such as Senator John McCain, Senator Jeremiah Denton, Texas Congressman Sam Johnson, as well as Medal Honor recipients Bud Day and Leo Thorsness, learning firsthand what leadership under adverse conditions required of an individual.  John served on the commander’s clandestine communications team whose task it was to transmit the directives and instructions for resistance from the senior ranking officer to all the POWs--often at great risk of torture or other punishments.  At the same time he also served as one of the room chaplains to conduct Sunday services for the other POWs.

 

John was released on March 4, 1973 and after recuperation attended Command and Staff College, following which he resumed his flying career in the F-111F fighter airplane.  Later, he served in many staff positions, most notably as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for POW and MIA Affairs in the Pentagon, and as the Chief of the European Field Office to oversee the implementation of the INF Treaty, signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, to eliminate intermediate range and shorter range missiles in Europe.  In this capacity he had close interaction with Soviet political and military officials.

After twenty-eight years, John completed military service and began teaching history and government, following which he began a fourteen year career as a Catholic elementary school principal in California. 

 

John holds two masters degrees:  one in Political Science from Auburn University, and the other in Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina.

 

John and Nancy have three grown children:  John, a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State; Paul, an elementary school assistant principal in Frederick, Maryland; and Theresa, an early childhood school teacher.  John and Nancy permanently reside in New Market, MD

 

John's military decorations include:  

Silver Star (2)                                                 

Air Force Meritorious Service Medal (2)

Defense Superior Service Medal (2)              

Army Meritorious Service Medal (2)

Legion of Merit (2)                                        

Air Medal (5)

Distinguished Flying Cross                            

Air Force Commendation Medal (2)

Bronze Star (2)                                              

 Prisoner of War Medal

Purple Heart                                                   

Viet Nam Service Medal

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal