John Lawrence Bohan - Print Biography

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John Lawrence Bohan

Corporal - Marine Corps

Highest Rank: Corporal
Foreign Service Length: 2 and a half years
Continental Service Length: none
Location of Service: California
Gender: male
Basic Training: San Diego, California
Service Related Injury: tooth knocked out
Military Position: Corporal
Place of Separation: Great Lakes
From City: Chicago
From State: Illinois
Current City: Upper Arlington
Current State: Ohio
Date of Birth: 08/2024

1/1/1944 - 2/2/1946

Honored by Ryan Bohan, Grandson

1924 John Lawrence Bohan was born on August 31, 1924 in Chicago Illinois.

1944 He was enlisted in the marines and served during the end of WWII. His first year in the service was in 1944 and he would stay in the marines for two more years. He would eventually raise his rank to a corporal. John had a mainly positive experience in the military and said he would do it again if he could relive his life.

1944 My Grandfather knew that he wanted to join the military but he didn’t know what branch he wanted to join. Originally he looked at the Navy but knew he wouldn’t be able to make it because he couldn’t swim. Since he couldn’t swim he began to look at the Marines and eventually decided to join. He was in the military at the age of twenty and only a high school diploma.

1944 The hardest thing that my Grandpa went through was boot camp. He described boot camp as being very intense and made him consider quitting but he was able to fight through it. The one major thing that he remembered about boot camp was jumping of a high platform into the water with all of his gear on. The main reason he remembered this is because he couldn’t swim and he had to doggy paddle out of the water. This was a major problem for a lot of the men in boot camp.

1945 My Grandfather never had to leave the U.S but came very close. He worked on a few different air bases in California and had multiple jobs to do. He guarded Italian prisoners, drove gasoline tankers, and filled air planes. Toward the end of the war he was almost sent over to Japan because so many men had been killed. If we wouldn’t have dropped the atomic bomb then my Grandpa would have been sent over to Japan. He was very lucky because there were so many losses in Japan.

1947 My Grandpa was a very brave man who wanted to help his country. He earned multiple medals and put a lot of thought in leaving the military but he decided to give it up. He had a very good experience in military and would do the same thing if he had the chance again. The only regret that he had was not using the GI bill to continue his education but the military experience helped him in his life and even got him his first job.