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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Dec '83
John Frederick Green No. 15701 Class of 1946
Died 4 August 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, aged 57 years. Interment:
Woodlawn Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee
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John Frederick Green (Jack) was born in Kent, Indiana
on 15 January 1924, the son of Dewey and May T. Green. As a small
child he moved to Shelbyville, Kentucky where he grew up. His
sturdy body, quickness, and enthusiasm for football gained him
a place on the Shelbyville high school team and on the Kentucky
All-State team as a quarterback.
He graduated from high school in 1942 and accepted
a football scholarship to Tulane University as a pre-med student.
This hardworking freshman not only earned a letter but established
himself as an outstanding player on the 1942 Tulane varsity.
When Jack saw an opportunity to attend West Point and play football
under Colonel "Red" Blaik, he left Tulane, accepting
an appointment from Kentucky and entering the Academy in Ju1y
1943.
Jack was an outstanding student, endorsed not only
by his peers, but by instructors and the Tacs. As a First Classman
he wore the prized chevrons of a cadet captain. His teammates
elected him captain of the 1945 Army football team that became
National Champions.
If you knew him you paid attention to this earnest,
friendly, soft-spoken leader who made lasting friendships and
who led in the most effective manner: by setting the example.
People liked to be around Jack because he was modest and because
he produced. He was selected as an All-American guard in 1944
and 1945. The 1972 Army-Navy football program shows him on the
"All-time Army team." He was a winner on and off the
field. His dedication inspired the Academy. In the winter he
enjoyed wrestling.
In 1947 he married Jeanne Carolyn MacDermut at
Fort Benning, Georgia. After a tour in Salzburg, Austria as an
Infantry officer, he accepted an assignment to West Point to
become an assistant coach under Colonel Blaik. As "chief
recruiter," he was instrumental and invaluable in building
the championship teams of 1948, 1949 and 1950, as well as our
outstanding winners of 1953 and 1954.
In 1954 Captain Jack Green resigned his commission
to become assistant football coach at Tulane. His civilian coaching
career led him to the University of Florida, Vanderbilt University,
where he served from 1983 to 1966 as head coach, then to Kansas
University and Baylor University in Texas.
In 1969 he left the coaching profession and joined
AVCO Aerostructures becoming Director of Employee Relations.
He remained there until ill health forced him to take a leave
of absence.
Jack is survived by his wife Jeanne, their sons
David and Daniel, their daughter Nancy and one granddaughter,
Leslie.
Jack Green stood for integrity and honor; a dynamo;
an inspirational leader. His close friends bore the hope that
he would pass his leadership to cadets as head football coach
or as director of athletics. Death in 1981 stopped this vision.
His last few hard years were made less severe by the devotions
of Jeanne and his family.
Joe Steffy, a teammate
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