Salute to Service - CPL John Dawson
United States Army
June 21, 1992 – April 8, 2015
Represented by Tom Brady, Jonathan Jones, and Brian Flores
United States Army Corporal John M. Dawson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on June 21, 1992. He grew up in Whitinsville, a small town south of Worcester. John loved the outdoors; hiking, skiing, fishing, bicycling, soccer and any outdoor activity. He enjoyed target shooting at the local gun range.
John was a 2010 graduate of Blackstone Valley Vocational Technical High School in Upton, Massachusetts. He attended the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Quinsigamond Community College, before enlisting in the Army in 2012. John chose to fulfill his desire to serve his country while having the opportunity to help others, as a combat medic.
He took Basic Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and attended Combat Medic School at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, before being assigned to 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. He was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and deployed to Afghanistan in January 2015.
On April 8, 2015, John's unit came under fire and seven soldiers were wounded. John did not survive his wounds. He received several posthumous awards including the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal for Valor, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
John was an avid Patriots fan and was lucky to see them win four Super Bowls, the last of which he watched in Afghanistan, where he reveled in their victory, being the only New England fan in his platoon.
