View source for John Rowan (Vietnam War veteran)

{{Infobox person
| name = John Rowan
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| birth_date = September 18, 1945
| birth_place = [[Queens]], [[New York City]], U.S.
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| education = [[Queens College, City University of New York|Queen's College]]<br/>[[Hunter College]]
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| occupation = Civic leader
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'''John Rowan''' (born September 18, 1945) is an American [[Vietnam War]] veteran and the sixth national president of the [[Vietnam Veterans of America]] (VVA).
==Early life, education, and military service==
Rowan was born on September 18, 1945, in [[Queens]], New York City.<ref name="historynetvoices">{{cite news |last1=Springston |first1=Chuck |title=Voices: John Rowan |url=https://www.historynet.com/voices-john-rowan.htm |accessdate=March 20, 2019 |work=[[HistoryNet]] |date=April 2018}}</ref> He was educated at the [[Brooklyn Technical High School]], and he attended [[Baruch College]] but did not graduate.<ref name="historynetvoices"/> Instead, he learned Indonesian at the [[Defense Language Institute]] and Vietnamese in Washington, D.C., before serving in the Vietnam War.<ref name="historynetvoices"/>
In 1967,<ref name="historynetvoices"/> amid the [[Vietnam War]], Rowan joined the [[U.S. Air Force]] [[U.S. Air Force Security Service|Security Service]] as a linguist.<ref name="vvabio"/> He "flew in planes over [[North Vietnam]] with a team listening in on the enemy's communications and translating them into English to guide or warn American pilots."<ref name="historynetvoices"/>
After the war, Rowan attended [[Queens College, City University of New York|Queen's College]], where he earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science.<ref name="vvabio">{{cite web |title=John Rowan: National President |url=https://vva.org/who-we-are/leadership/officers/john-rowan/ |website=Vietnam Veterans of America |accessdate=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811190748/https://vva.org/who-we-are/leadership/officers/john-rowan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="advisoryboardjohnrowan">{{cite web |title=Advisory Board: John Rowan |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/site/veterans/about/advisory-board/john-rowan.page |website=NYC Department of Veterans' Affairs |accessdate=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320191219/https://www1.nyc.gov/site/veterans/about/advisory-board/john-rowan.page |url-status=dead }}</ref> He attended graduate school at [[Hunter College]], where he earned a master's degree in Urban Affairs.<ref name="vvabio"/><ref name="advisoryboardjohnrowan"/>
==Career and civic activities==
Rowan spent his career in the public sector. He was an investigator for the [[New York City Comptroller]]'s Office until 2002.<ref name="historynetvoices"/>
Rowan became a member of the Council of Vietnam Veterans, later known as the Vietnam Veterans of America, in 1978.<ref name="historynetvoices"/><ref name="advisoryboardjohnrowan"/> He was a founding member of its chapter in [[Queens, New York]] in 1981.<ref name="historynetvoices"/> From 1995 to 2005, he was the president of the VVA's New York State Council from 1995 to 2005.<ref name="historynetvoices"/> Since 2005, he has served as its sixth national president.<ref name="historynetvoices"/> He has raised awareness about the high rate of [[PTSD]] among Vietnam War veterans.<ref name="dailynewsstressiscalled">{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Caitlin |title=Stress is called a killer for vets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/410087997/?terms=%22John%2BRowan%22%2B%22vietnam%22 |accessdate=March 20, 2019 |work=New York Daily News |date=December 4, 2005|page=26|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration }}</ref> He has also worked with the [[Vietnamese Veterans Association]] to find missing U.S. veterans of the war who died on Vietnamese soil.<ref name="historynetvoices"/>
Rowan serves on the advisory board of the New York City Department of Veterans Affairs, where he represents Queens.<ref name="advisoryboardjohnrowan"/>
==Personal life==
With his wife Mariann, Rowan resides in [[Middle Village, New York]].<ref name="vvabio"/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.c-span.org/person/?johnrowan John Rowan] on [[C-SPAN]]
*[http://www.vva.org Vietnam Veterans of America]
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Vietnam Veterans of America|President of Vietnam Veterans of America]] |before=[[Thomas H. Corey]]|years=2005-present|after=incumbent}}
{{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowan, John}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Activists from Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Technical High School alumni]]
[[Category:Queens College, City University of New York alumni]]
[[Category:Hunter College alumni]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:United States Air Force airmen]]
{{USAF-bio-stub}}