LTC (Ret) John C. Cannon, one of our country’s first African American
Paratroopers, has made his final jump. Born June 26, 1923, he departed
this world on March 18, 2014 in Madison, MS where he resided with his
wife, retired Superior Court Judge Norma Cannon. He was born in Happy
Jack, Louisiana to Walter and Geneva Cannon as the 10
th
of 10 children.
He often said, “My parents were seeking perfection and kept on until they
got it.” In 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps to become a member of
the Tuskegee Airman. Upon arriving at Tuskegee, John was in
competition for a limited number of pilot training slots with a large number
of other enlistees who were college graduates. He was reassigned from
the pilot training unit and received his basic training as a private. He was
later assigned to
administrative positions
and attended a number of
Army schools and in 1945
was commissioned a
second lieutenant in the Medical Administrative Corps. In 1945, John changed
his commissioned branch from Medical Administrative Corps to Infantry and
joined the 555 Parachute Infantry Battalion (The Triple Nickles), an all black
paratrooper unit. During the Korean War, he returned to the Medical
Administrative Corps and was reassigned to the 187
th
Airborne Regimental
Combat Team in Korea where he was a Combat Medic.
In 1962, John, his wife Dorothy and son Carl moved to Seattle in
anticipation of his military retirement. That retirement was delayed for a few
years due to his promotion to lieutenant colonel. It was in 1966 that Colonel
Cannon finally retired from the Army and became a true Seattleite. He
immediately submerged himself into the community, striving for improvements
within the Central Area. He worked in Seattle's Division of Urban Renewal until
his appointment, in 1970, as the first administrator of Odessa Brown Children's
Clinic. Thereafter he became Executive Director of the Ecumenical
Metropolitan Ministry and, from 1980 to 1988, the Executive Director of the
Central Area Senior Center. He served on boards of directors of many
organizations, including a stint as the President of the Seattle Public Library
Board. The Cannon House, an assisted living facility in Seattle on Twenty-Third
Avenue South near Yesler Street is named to honor his many contributions to
Seattle.
Dorothy Cannon, John’s first wife of more than 50 years predeceased him.
She too, was active in the Seattle community. He later remarried to now,
retired Superior Court Judge Norma Cannon. This union created a blended family of five children and two grandchildren who
John and Norma relocated to Madison, Mississippi to be near. John leaves a son and daughter in law, LTC (ret) Carl and Dr
Mary Cannon, MD, a sister, Vera Bullen, who will be 105 years old in April, an older brother, Oneil Cannon, who is 97 and a
host of nieces and nephews, god children and others that he claims as his extended family.
Memorial Service will be conducted on April 7, 2014 at 11am at Bethany United Church of Christ, 6230 Beacon Ave S.
Seattle, WA. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that donations be made to Bethany UCC for Food Bank In Honor of
John Cannon.
© Official Site Of 555th Parachute Infantry “Triple Nickle”. 2008