John Henderson
WW II
John K. Henderson
John K. Henderson, a Bucyrus native, was born on June 29, 1927. As a young man, he moved several times, attending Bucyrus Schools, Miami High School in Florida and Lee Edwards High School in North Carolina, where he was a part of several organizations including the band, glee club, theater, Pan American Club, and several others.
He went on to attend Rollins College in Florida and Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree, where he majored in Economics and minored in Accounting and Spanish. While attending college, Henderson was involved in the choir, Beta Fraternity and Spanish Club.
In the midst of his schooling, Henderson served as a Radioman in the U.S. Navy from 1945-1946, as well as serving inactive reserve from 1946-1948. His time serving in the U.S. Navy compelled him to join the U.S. Army ROTC during the remainder of his undergraduate program.
Henderson went on to study at the University of Tennessee where he earned a Master of Science in Economics and minors in Transportation and Management. After graduation, Henderson became active in the Army and served 28 years of service.
While active, he served as a Lieutenant in the Korean War, earning the Purple Heart, Bronze Star for Valor, Presidential Unit Citation, Korean Presidential Unit and Korean War medal with six combat action stars.
Throughout the remainder of his service, Henderson received several promotions, a Captain in Germany and Fort Riley, KA, promoted to Major, instructing at the U.S. Army Transportation School in Ft. Eustis, Virginia and Thailand and Colonel in Vietnam and Germany.
During the remainder of his military profession, he received several other awards including two bronze stars medals, Legion of Merit, Air Medal, Vietnam Medal with four battle stars, Join Chiefs of Staff Commendation Medal and Legion of Merit 1st and 2nd oak leaf cluster.
After retiring from the service, Henderson moved to Texas where he served as the Assistant Chief/Chief of West Gulf Operations for Lykes Brothers Steamship Company for nearly 10 years. He then went on to become an Outplacement Counselor for Drake Beam and finally Proposal Manger at Brown and Root Services Division.
While Henderson’s active professional career was time consuming, he still made sure to reserve time for his fellow veterans, becoming a member of the Association of the U.S. Army and National Defense Transportation Association, taking on the role of president during his time in each. He was also named a lifetime member of both the Disabled American Veterans as well as Military Officers Association. Henderson is also part of the Korean War Veterans Association and American Legion.
Henderson continues to contribute to the community as he has for the last 40 years, volunteering with organizations like the Boy Scouts of America, Atascocita Civic Improvement Association, Humble Area Assistant Ministries, Atascocita Presbyterian Church and several others. It is for these reasons, the Crawford County Veterans Hall of Fame is proud to induct John K. Henderson!
