John Jacob Norris

John J. Norris Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired Colonel John J. Norris, U.S. Army, Retired — a combat veteran of World War II and Vietnam — died on December 29, 2016, at The Fairfax, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He was 96 years old. John Jacob Norris was born on February 25, 1920, near Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, the son of Ezekiel Boyce and Carrie Riley Norris. Colonel Norris attended the University of South Carolina for three years prior to entering the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated with the Class of January 1943. He was commissioned in the Field Artillery and assigned to the 102nd Infantry Division at Camp Maxey, Texas. Colonel Norris entered combat in Holland in 1944 as Commander of Battery C, 379th Field Artillery and remained as battery commander until the war in Europe ended on the Elbe River in Germany in May 1945. In Korea in 1962-63, Colonel Norris commanded the rocket-howitzer battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division and, in Vietnam in 1967-68, led the 54th Artillery Group in II Field Force. In addition to these command positions, Colonel Norris served on the staff and faculties of two senior service colleges, and had assignments in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, the Army General Staff, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During the Vietnam War, in 1966-67, he was an operations team chief in the National Military Command Center. Colonel Norris was a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and received a masters degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri. His decorations include two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, and an Army Commendation Medal. Following retirement, he worked as Director of Education and Conventions for a national trade association and served in a number of volunteer activities. He was a charter member of the Mount Vernon Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America and served as a deacon and elder in the Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria, Virginia. Colonel Norris is survived by his wife of 69 years, Irene; their three children (Irene Catania of Arlington, Virginia; Nancy Sharpe of Greenwood Village, Colorado; and John J. Norris, Jr., of Arlington, Virginia); four grandchildren; and three great grandchildren. A funeral service will be held Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 9:00am at Fort Myer, Virginia, followed by interment at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the West Point Long Gray Line Endowment Fund, AOG-USMA, West Point, NY 10996, or to the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, 323 South Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Arrangements under the direction of Demaine Funeral Home, Alexandria, VA.