CHARLESTOWN — More 300 guests attended the gala alongside the USS Constitution in support of the the John P. Connors Memorial Fund. Welcoming remarks were made by Lt. Colonel (ret.) Tom Cappelletti, the executive director of the project. The guest speaker was SOCM Ross Munro USN Seal (ret.) and the evening’s emcee was Fox25’s Gene Lavanchy.
The goal of the fund is to establish a memorial for Lt. JG John P. Connors, who was killed in action while deployed to Panama in support of Operation Just Cause on December 20, 1989. Connors entered the Navy ROTC program at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1982, and was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on May 29, 1987.
After completing initial Fleet training, he attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California, from August 1987 to February 1988, followed by service with SEAL Team FOUR at NAB Little Creek, Virginia, from February 1988 until he was killed in action. Conners was buried at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Arlington.
All photos by Bill Brett
