More detail on this person: John Eldon Elliott, aged 73, of Hedgesville passed away on Sunday, May 8, 2022, at Berkeley Medical Center after a long battle with the effects of Agent Orange. Born May 21, 1948, in Richland Center, Wisconsin, he is the son of John Corliss Elliott and Iretta Eldeen (Clark) Elliott of Marquette, Iowa. He was a resident of Hedgesville, WV, since 1990. At the age of one, his parents moved to Boscobel, Wisconsin, where he spent his formative years, and the first two years of high school. After leaving Columbus High, he attended two years of college, earning an Associate's Degree. He then decided that he had something more important to do. He joined the ARMY and completed Warrant Officer Flight School, Class 68-31-A1. He went to VietNam (71 st Assault Helicopter Company), where he was wounded a few times. He returned to the States and served as an Instructor Pilot for foreign Flying Officer Candidates, and received a promotion to First Lieutenant. He returned to Viet Nam and was Platoon Leader for Aero Scouts in an Air Cavalry unit (C Troop, 3/17 Air Cavalry Regiment), moving up to Captain. He was assigned to a stateside unit and became an Aviation Company Commander (D Co, 101 st Aviation Brigade). After seven years, he was told that he had "too many holes in his body, and too much scar tissue, to pass the required physical to remain in the Army." He flew contract support for a military jungle school in Panama, for a now defunct government airline. He also met his Colombian wife while stationed in Panama. She was a stewardess for Aero-Condor. After returning to the States, he moved on to government service. After bouncing around Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, and completing his college career with a degree in modern history (from 1850 on), he was offered a big carrot, and was assigned to his agency's DC Headquarters, where he became a GS-14 Division Chief (Colonel eq). He had oversight of thirty people and personally wrote some twenty-five operations manuals. He has been ncluded six times in the publication, "WHO's WHO IN DC." John was awarded 1 Silver Star, 1 Distinguished Flying Cross, 1 Bronze Star, 3 Purple Hearts, 28 Air Medals (with V Device), 1 Army Commendation Medal, 1 Army Good Conduct Medal, 1 American Defense Ribbon, 1 National Defense Service Medal, 3 Vietnam Service Medals, 1 Vietnam Wound Ribbon, 1 Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, 1 Armed Forces Reserve Medal, 1 Army Presidential Unit Citation, 1 Republic of Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation, and a Broken Wing Award. He and his wife, Aura Mercedes Cardoso Rada, have three children. The oldest son, Randall Corliss Elliott, is an IT Operations Manager for an international agricultural company. His wife, Trina, is a teacher, and they have two children: Sadie and Derek. Their second son, Aaron Murray Elliott, and his wife, Abigail, are Majors in the US Air Force and US Space Force. They have been assigned to the US Embassy in Kazakhstan, and they have a son, Ezekiel. Their daughter, Jessica Eileen Hess, has a bachelor's degree in animal science, and works as an exotic animal specialist. Her husband is Nathan Hess, a general contractor, and they have a son, John. John's medical situation was the result of flying several loads of Agent Orange in VietNam, and it finally caught up to him. His health began to fail, and he suffered Type 2 Diabetes, and eventually kidney failure. He was on three kidney replacement lists, but never received a new kidney. He is survived by his wife, Aura Mercedes Cardoso Rada, and three children: Randall Corliss Elliott and his wife, Trina (Nichols) Elliott, and their two children, Sadie and Derek, of Martinsburg, West Virginia; Aaron Murray Elliott and his wife, Abigail (Coover) Elliott, and their son, Ezekiel; and Jessica Eileen (Elliott) Hess and her husband, Nathan Hess, and their son, John, also of Martinsburg, West Virginia; his parents, John Corliss Elliott and Iretta Eldeen (Clark) Elliott of Marquette, Iowa; his sister, Monica Lynn (Elliott) Ayers and her husband, Jon Ayers, of McGregor, Iowa; and his brother, Steven Lyle Elliott, and his wife, Donna Marie (Shook) Elliott, of Portage, Wisconsin. Funeral service will be held on Sunday, May 15, 2022, at 2:00 PM at Brown Funeral Home with Bruce Hanson officiating. Family will receive friends one hour prior to the service, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, at the funeral home. Interment will be in Hedgesville Cemetery
Burial information: Hedgesville Cemetery
This information was last updated 05/15/2022
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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