Retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. John Burford has traveled around the world since leaving Reading in 1976, straight out of the gate following his graduation. He eventually married and settled in Temple, Texas where he continues to live a productive and active life with his wife and family. His early life in Reading holds many good memories for him, and the pull to return for his Reading High School 50th Class Reunion, held on Saturday, May 16th, was enough that he made the trip to revisit the place where his story began.
“I was born in St. Joseph’s Hospital on May 19, 1958, and I grew up living on Buttonwood Street, and later on Weiser Street in Reading. I am one of the five children of Charles and Jane Burford; two older brothers, Mark and Kerry live in Reading, George lives in Atlanta, Georgia and Jennifer lives in Alexandria, Virginia along with my mother. My father passed a few years ago.”
John’s memories growing up in Reading are very positive. “My favorite memories are hanging around the YMCA. The Y taught me a lot about being a good neighbor and the values that they still teach today. We formed a club called the Jitterbug Club where we’d go around picking up trash, getting together teams to play basketball, camping out on Neversink Mountain, volunteering with the school district, and helping to clean up the parks. We also loved riding our bikes all over and playing down by the Schuylkill River. We watched the hot rod cars race down River Road. And we walked around just seeing what we could come up with to help someone out.”
John attended schools in the Reading School District; Schuylkill Avenue Elementary, Southwest Junior High, and Reading High School/Reading Muhlenberg Vo-tech. “My school experiences were very positive. I attended Vo-tech for small engine repair. Mr. Swartz, my vo-tech teacher, was a very positive influence. My love of sports really highlighted my years at Reading High, where I participated in wrestling, which I loved, and track and field, pole vault, long jump, and triple jump. As I look back on my life growing up in Reading, I faced no challenges. Life was great, and it was fun!”
It was in eleventh grade that John made a choice which would determine the course of the rest of his life. “In eleventh grade, a recruiter came to the high school to speak to students. My Dad spent 40 years in the Army Reserve and three uncles also served in the military. I signed up then, through the Army’s Delayed Entry Program. Following my graduation from high school, I headed to Fort Dix, New Jersey on June 21, 1976, to start Army basic training. Being an athlete and being in good shape, and also a mechanic through vo-tech, put me a step ahead of everyone.”
Although John entered basic training with some real advantages, he also managed to garner some trouble for himself. “I was always a class clown, and so I was always laughing,” he explains. “So there was a lot of ‘What are you laughing at, private?’, and I getting down and doing a lot of pushups. Anytime somebody else got in trouble, I was laughing. More pushups. It really didn’t bother me, I just set my mind to deal with it. It was all just a part of discipline. Do what you are told, and everything will be fine. Following basic training I was sent to Aberdine Proving Ground in Maryland for training in automotive, where I worked on trucks and tanks. They all work the same, and are basically designed the same.”
Over the next 26 years, John served in various places around the world both foreign and domestic. “I started my first tour at age 18 in Hanau, West Germany, back when there was an East and West Germany. I spent a total of seven years in Germany until the wall came down. I remember thinking back in high school, ‘Why would I ever use the German language for anything?’ Well, it ended up serving me well.”
It was during his time in Germany that John began coaching other young athletes. “It was strange being away from home for the first time and being in a foreign country. But I was an athlete, so I hung around the American high school kids there. I had just turned 18 when I went over there, so that was my peer group. I coached track over there. I’d work my job half a day and then they would let me go coach.”
Following his time in Germany, John spent the remaining years of his career in many different places. “I then went to Texas, and then to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana, where I took photo journalism and broadcasting through the army, but I did not like it. I returned to being a mechanic in Savannah, Georgia. I was sent to Korea where I became interested in martial arts, but I did not like the tour of Korea. Then to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, which was absolutely beautiful. Four years in Honduras, back to Germany twice, and then to Texas as my last tour in 1995.”
John put down new roots in Temple, Texas where he married his wife, Kayla, and helped to raise his step son, Eythan and step daughter, Emyle. “The people are really friendly here, and there is so much to do. There is so much wide-open space, which is great for me because I ride a motorcycle and I love the freedom of riding on the open road. The cost of living here is also very cheap.”
After his retirement from the military in 2005, John became involved with a program through the VA called the Adaptive Sports Program. “The program was designed to help veterans maintain a healthy mind and body. Since I was ambulatory, I was open to participating in competitive sports in shot put, javelin, and powerlifting. I’ve been in the program for seven years now, and I travel with these competitions a lot. Our next competition is with Sports for Life in Tampa, Florida.”
During retirement, John also learned construction skills through a VA Program while working as a laborer for the VA hospital, and he continues to work several days a week doing construction.
Traveling back to Reading for his 50th Class Reunion was quite an experience for John, as so much of his childhood home has changed since he departed 50 years ago. “I enjoyed taking a tour of the high school, and I really liked that they redid the track. After traveling to so many places, I realized that we have a pretty nice-looking high school. It’s a castle! It was a lot of fun getting to see everyone and how good they all looked. We talked about thumb tacks on chairs and who was the culprit, and reminisced about all kinds of things. The food was good, and the atmosphere was good. I’m glad that I was able to make it back here for the special occasion.”
God speed as you head back to the great state of Texas, John!
Note from the author – As an elementary school classmate of John’s, I can attest to the fact that he was the funniest kid in the class! Always laughing and making everyone else laugh as well! It did not surprise me in the least that he was met with those countless push-ups when he entered the military. Through the years maintaining a connection on Facebook, I have noted that his old personality traits are still very much intact!
