Army Pfc. John T. Bishop

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. John T. Bishop, 22, of Gaylord, Mich.

Pfc. Bishop was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died April 23, 2008 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a vehicle incident.

Soldier loved all things adventure
By Joe Rossiter
Detroit Free Press

When Pfc. John Bishop arrived home from Iraq in March on an 18-day leave, family members recalled his euphoria upon seeing the foot-and-a-half snow base outside their Gaylord home.

Next to his loved ones, the sight of snow was the best thing for the snowmobile enthusiast.

Mr. Bishop, 22, was one of two soldiers of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division out of Ft. Campbell, Ky., who died April 23 while on patrol in Golden Hills, Iraq.

For Mr. Bishop, a young daredevil who used to skydive over Grand Traverse Bay, adventure was as much a part of his persona as his dedication to the country when, following in the footsteps of his father and two brothers, he enlisted in the Army nearly two years ago.

“He was a genuine thrill-seeker,” said his sister, Jennifer Tye.

Born in Royal Oak, Mr. Bishop grew up in St. Clair Shores, and the family moved to Gaylord in 2000. After enlisting in the Army in August 2006, he was deployed to Iraq a year later.

Two months before his departure, he married Diane Caddell in a Las Vegas wedding chapel.

In addition to his wife and sister, survivors include his parents, John and Gaye Bishop; brothers Bernie Bishop and Kevin Tye; sister, Lisa Katchmark, and grandparents Arthur and Marlene LeCuru.

Funeral services are at 9 a.m. Friday at the Gaylord Evangelical Free Church, 1649 E. M-32, Gaylord. Visitation will precede services at 8 a.m. at the church.

Burial with full military honors will take place later in the day at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.

Flags to be lowered to honor soldier
The Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has ordered flags to be lowered Friday in honor of a soldier who died in Iraq while on active duty.

Army Pfc. John Bishop of Gaylord died April 23 from injuries he sustained in a vehicle crash. He was 22.

Bishop was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), at Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Pfc. John T. Bishop remembered
The Associated Press

If it involved speed or danger, John T. Bishop was right there.

“He was an avid snowmobiler. He liked to fish and skydive. He liked to do dangerous things. He was a risk-taker,” said his father, John William Bishop.

Bishop, 22, of Gaylord, Mich., died April 23 when his vehicle rolled over in a canal in Golden Hills. He was assigned to Fort Campbell.

“John always looked up to the other military members in our family,” said his sister, Jennifer. “He felt joining the Army was his duty and the honorable thing to do. We were all so proud of him and never once did he regret his decision.”

He reveled in the joy of zooming along the northern landscape on his Arctic Cat with the wind whipping in his face, and would skydive over Grand Traverse Bay.

While home, Bishop made a point of visiting each member of his large clan scattered throughout Michigan and spent four days crisscrossing the state to do so. “He was usually the glue that held everything together and always had a knack for solving family problems,” said his sister.

He also is survived by his wife, Diane.

Army Pfc. John T. Bishop was killed in action on 4/23/08.