JOHN P. HARRINGTON, LTJG, USN
John Harrington '67
Lucky Bag
From the 1967 Lucky Bag:
JOHN PETER HARRINGTON
South Orange, New Jersey
John came to the Academy from Seton Hall Prep after turning down appointments to the Military and Coast Guard Academies. Unable to play football due to a shoulder separation, John ran plebe track before settling down to the intramural sports. Academics were always easy for John, and he spent numerous evenings sacrificing his own work to help his classmates. John also busied himself with numerous activities, especially the Brigade Activities Committee. His moans filled the air one homecoming game when the fort he took hours to build was leveled by the William and Mary Indians. Whether he goes Naval Air or Nuclear Power, John will certainly be a big asset to the fleet.
He was also a member of the 6th Battalion staff (winter).
JOHN PETER HARRINGTON
South Orange, New Jersey
John came to the Academy from Seton Hall Prep after turning down appointments to the Military and Coast Guard Academies. Unable to play football due to a shoulder separation, John ran plebe track before settling down to the intramural sports. Academics were always easy for John, and he spent numerous evenings sacrificing his own work to help his classmates. John also busied himself with numerous activities, especially the Brigade Activities Committee. His moans filled the air one homecoming game when the fort he took hours to build was leveled by the William and Mary Indians. Whether he goes Naval Air or Nuclear Power, John will certainly be a big asset to the fleet.
He was also a member of the 6th Battalion staff (winter).
Loss
John lost on September 28, 1968 when the aircraft he was piloting crashed near Kingsville, Texas. He was serving with Training Squadron (VT) 22 at Kingsville in the advanced jet flight program. His plane was one of three jets on a navigation training flight.
Other Information
From the January 1969 issue of Shipmate:
Lt. Harrington was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., and graduated from the Naval Academy with the class of 1967. He completed basic flight training at Pensacola, Fla., before his assignment at Kingsville.
Surviving are his widow, Victoria R., of Haddonfield, N. J.; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Harrington of South Orange, N. J.; four brothers, William, Dennis, Michael and Paul; and five sisters, Pegeen, Jane, Patricia, Kathleen and Mary Elise.
From the Class of 1967's 50th Reunion Yearbook, courtesy of William Belden '67:
John hailed from South Orange, New Jersey, where he graduated from Seton Hall Prep in 1963. He was an all-state football player and Student Body President at Seton Hall, and also had appointments to both West Point and the Coast Guard Academy before choosing USNA.
While he was at USNA, John was not content to just get through the curriculum. He took extra courses in aerodynamics and aerospace in the hopes of becoming an astronaut, and spent many hours with our late classmate Mike Smith working on these courses. He was also a member of the Brigade Honor Committee and a 3 striper first class year. Additionally, he spent many hours helping classmates with their academics and more than a few credit him with helping them graduate from USNA.
In sports, a separated shoulder in high school football prevented him playing football at Navy. Interestingly, John said he enjoyed playing intramurals with the 33 Mets as much or more as high school athletics. He played lightweight football Youngster year, and almost starved himself to death in order to make the one weigh in at the beginning of the season. A ferocious blocker and pass protector, he was instrumental in helping the Mets to an outstanding season. He was also a stalwart on the fieldball team, once breaking his nose, and just moving it back in place to and kept playing.
John went to Pensacola after graduation for aviation flight training, the first step in his dream of becoming an astronaut. He was killed tragically on a training flight in an F-9 near Kingsville, Texas on September 28, 1968. John was survived by his wife of 6 weeks, the former Vicki Sclafani and numerous friends, both in and out of the Navy, who mourn his loss to this day.
Submitted by Jim Perley
John is buried in New Jersey.
Photographs
From the January 1969 issue of Shipmate.
From his high school yearbook
From his high school yearbook
Related Articles
Gregg Owens '67 was also in 33rd Company.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
