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- [S76] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume III, 1974-1986, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 15 Sep 1986.
Jason Lile Carver obituary
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 31 Mar 2006.
Louetta Shelton Justus obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 8 Nov 2009.
U.S. Army veteran John Carver is a morning regular at the Pigeon Forge Hardee’s on the Parkway. As he drinks his coffee, other regulars — who also happen to be veterans — stop by his booth to say hello.
“You’re out of your overalls today,” observed Ray Lovett, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
“I’m having my picture made today,” Carver said, then added, “my wife doesn’t like overalls.”
But overalls are much more comfortable for Carver, who caught a skin disease while serving in Vietnam. A belt aggravates the sores he sometimes gets around his waist.
He says that Lovett, who is married to one of Carver’s old classmates, served in World War II.
“We’re getting to be the older generation now,” he said of his fellow Vietnam vets. “There aren’t too many World War II veterans left.”
Carver was at first drafted but then re-enlisted to serve with special forces. He was first sent to Okinawa, then to Vietnam, where he stayed for 17 months.
“I wanted to be a Ranger,” he said simply. “I was in reconnaissance (a part of combat intelligence) and we were in enemy territory. I slept in mud covered up to my head — we couldn’t afford to be caught.”
Carver is somewhat reserved about sharing his experience at war, but he did recall the especially deadly Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Central Highlands, where lots of sniping, ambushes, booby traps and mines occurred.
He is still in contact with a fellow Ranger who lives in New York now. He and Carver were the only ones in their group left alive one night.
“The war never did get easier to deal with — nothing is easy about hunting down men, but you do what you have to do. It wasn’t my job to question anything. We were taught to follow orders.”
He also disagreed with people who protested the war.
“We were there, and we needed to commit. We were told when we got off the plane that we were not to speak to the war protesters. Those people cussed and spat at us.”
Although Carver feels that support for Vietnam veterans has improved since Desert Storm, he says military support is still lacking in certain areas of the country.
Having served in the 2nd of the 47th Infantry and 3rd of the 6th Infantry, both in the 9th Division, he received two Inservice Awards, two Vietnam Campaign Medals, two Bronze Stars, a Good Conduct Medal and a Vietnam Service Medal.
He worked in construction before retiring and is now active in the American Legion Post 202 in Gatlinburg, serving as post commander. He also enjoys fishing and spending time with family, which includes wife Norma; daughter Jonna McMahan; and grandchildren Will, 13, and (twins) Denton and McKinley, 11.
Although he has traveled around the Southeast — and the Far East — Sevier County has always been and always will be home.
Only 22 years old when he enlisted, Carver said he has “mellowed out a lot” since first leaving the armed forces.
“I don’t have as much hate in me. I’m a Christian now,” said the member of Williamsburg Baptist Church in Sevierville.
Carver encourages men and women who serve in the military today to “stay with it.”
“I know there’s a war going on, but they’ve got more opportunities these days,” he said.
ebrown@themountainpress.com
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 6 Dec 2015.
Dorothy Murrell Carver obituary
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, d. 15 Sep 1986 (Age 75 years) 