John Brian Alexander
1923-2010

John Brian Alexander of Palm Coast, Florida passed way on April 12^th, 2010.

Born October 27^th, 1923 in Andover, Massachusetts, he attended Central Catholic High school in Lawrence, Massachusetts. After graduating he volunteered for the United States Army in early 1942. He took part in four European campaigns: the D - Day Invasion at Utah Beach, the liberation of Paris, the Battle of the Bulge and the final liberation of Europe. For his WW II service he was awarded the Bronze Star among other medals.

In 1946 he joined the Army Air Force and was posted to the Pacific. He served in 20^th Air Force’s 19^th Bomb Group during the Korean War in the legendary B-29 “No Sweat”. After the war he was assigned to witness “Operations Crossroads”: the first hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. Later he attended language school at Syracuse University where he studied Russian. In his post Korean War service he was stationed in Berlin, Moscow, Belgrade and Fort Meade, Maryland. He retired from active military service in 1966 and served in the Air Force Reserve until 1972.

In 1967 he was recruited by the National Security Agency and served as an intelligence analyst and branch chief until his retirement in 1974. After retirement he enrolled at the University of New Hampshire and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. For his service he was awarded the Joint Services Commendation medal and the Air Force Commendation medal on two occasions. He was inducted into the Berlin Island Association’s Hall of Fame in 2004 for recognition of his service in Berlin during the height of the Cold War.