John's wife, Betty replied: "John had several very severe seizures on December 17 resulting in 17 broken ribs (we only have 24), a broken clavicle, and a punctured lung. He might have been able to heal a bit from this, but a week after admittance in the hospital it was found that he had two staph infections along with fluid build up in his chest cavity. The staph infections were the worst and he went down hill rapidly as a result of them." John died in the hospital on January 23, 2017. John suffered the effects of Agent Orange. Betty granted permission for the requested use of John's photo.
John Girardeau was commissioned a 2Lt after graduating from Georgia Tech ROTC in 1964. He spent two years on active duty. On October 4, 1965 he was on the troop ship, USNS General W. Gordon as it set sail on its thirty-day crossing to Vietnam. During his twelve month tour he served with HHB 6/27th Artillery at Phouc Vinh, primarily as a forward observer with B 1/4 Calvary as well as Special Forces at Xom Cat, where he remembers he “caught one hell of case of “crotch rot: swimming in the Song Be River”. He also served with the 35th ARVN Ranger Battalion out of Bien Hoa. He recalled that someone once said that “he was the most shot at man in the Battalion”.
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