One good man can make a big difference

ROGER CARLSON

With the holiday season upon us and the focus on giving, it seems

appropriate to introduce you to someone who could easily qualify for

many as one of the most unforgettable persons they’ve never met.

A former Costa Mesa resident and Daily Pilot news editor, John

Gunn has been ascending to legendary status around the United States

Marine Corps, past and present, with his one-man endeavor to

enlighten and entertain with sports information.

His weekly newsletter by way of e-mail from his Florida residence

connects with some 4,750 addresses, and beyond, with information and

recognition of past and present Marines. The list is staggering. The

information challenges your imagination.

Although he’s “retired” from some 40 years as a respected and

award-winning journalist in the newspaper business, his schedule

often exceeds the normal work day, and he doesn’t earn a dime for it.

“This is one reason I do it,” said Gunn,” because you can’t find

it anywhere. No one else does it, not even the Marine Corps.”

What he does is scan the nation’s major newspapers and with the

mind of a computer, picks out the items which involve past and

present Marines, and sends out a weekly dispatch to everyone on his

list.

After dabbling on a day-by-day basis, he takes the big dive on

Saturday, polishes the package on Sunday, and on Monday, e-mails his

in-depth work, topped with his own column.

“I don’t make any money, but a lot of World War II guys are

getting this,” Gunn, who resides in Gulf Breeze with his wife, Joan,

said by telephone.

A retired colonel in the USMC-Reserve, he was at the Pilot in the

era of the mid-70s and early ‘80s before moving on to the Register in

Santa Ana and eventual retirement, although he’s pretty well made a

mockery of sitting it out.

If you’re a football junkie you may have been watching ESPN2 the

other day when Wofford College lost to eventual champion Delaware,

24-9, in an NCAA Division I-AA semifinal. That’s right, Wofford is

coached by former Marine Mike Ayers.

So Gunn picks up on it, as well as such items as Colorado trading

Justin Speier to the Toronto Blue Jays; the son of Leon Spinks, Cory,

improving to 32-2 as a welterweight champion; Grossmont College, on

the way to the state JC football final, paced by tight end Xavier

Campbell; Mike Anderson serving out his four-game suspension with the

Denver Broncos; the Wheaton (Ill.) Thunder improving to 8-0 under

Coach Bill Harris in men’s basketball; and a new statue of Ted

Williams is unveiled at the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of

Fame in Hernando, Fla.

All, of course, have USMC ties, and it goes on, and on. Like

clockwork, on Mondays, one has to hit the “print” feature to obtain

the 20 or 30-page “Once a Marine” document which provides such depth,

well, it’s definitely something you want to file in the “John’s”

magazine rack where it can get the full reading over the course of

the week before yet another missile is launched.

“I’m busier now than when I was working,” admits the 72-year-old

Gunn, a sports fanatic since his days as a youth in Chicago. “But I

have so much fun at it, and I can do what I want, when I want.”

In terms of payoffs, it can go just about as high as you can get

within the Marine Corps barracks.

At a recent reunion in Quantico, Va., Gunn found himself with the

opportunity to introduce himself to Marine Corps Commandant James L.

Jones, who replied, as Gunn recounts the moment, “I know you.”

It was enough to take any Marine aback, and Gunn was no exception.

His response was, “You do?”

What began more than four years ago with a couple of hundred

“clients” has steadily built into a mass which is challenging his

personal computer.

“I send out my e-mails every Monday, but there is a limit of 1,000

per hour, so I have to send about 150 at a time,” said Gunn. It takes

six or seven shots over some 15 minutes, then there is the wait for

the turn of the hour before the next salvo, and so on, until the

mailing is complete. Overall, more than four hours.

His news gathering includes scanning transactions and obituaries,

and sports pages from the Los Angeles Times to Newsday, and many,

many others.

Despite the quantity and reliance only on himself, the quality and

accuracy defies the human tolerance.

Corrections are not a factor. He has it right the first time.

A good example of Gunn’s work ethic can be traced to the fact that

he was never a registered voter because it was his mind-set that it

would help him maintain his own objectivity as a newspaper person.

That alone puts him in a club which certainly couldn’t number more

than two or three in the nation.

He has crossed paths with Armand Hammer, Ronnie Lott, Kellen

Winslow, Earl Bruce, Don Shula, Glenn Davis, Lou Boudreau, Macdonald

Carey, Hugh O’Brian, Lee Greenwood, Art Buchwald, Oliver North and

Bob Newhart ... a mere sample of the big list.

He was a key figure at a recent College Football Hall of Fame

induction ceremony where the University of Minnesota’s George “Sonny”

Franck (1941) was enshrined. Gunn’s information and material was

instrumental in the selection of the 85-year-old Franck to the

storied building on the Notre Dame campus. And, it is one of Gunn’s

proudest accomplishments.

Over his long tenure there are a number of moments that fill

Gunn’s treasure chest.

Among his most memorable: Interviewing Vinegar Bend Mizell;

chatting with California Governor Ronald Reagan; meeting Coach Marv

Levy when he brought his Coe College (Iowa) basketball team to play

in Chicago; visiting Stanford and Chicago Bears standout Hugh

Gallarneau; visiting with Iowa football coach Hayden Fry;

accommodating Roman Gabriel when a quarterback for North Carolina

State (he’d stop by the office to see if any unused photos were

available); covering early matches and telephone interviews with

wrestler Vern Gagne; and, of course, that day in August as Franck, a

New York Giant as a pro and a WW II Marine aviator, took his place in

the College Football Hall of Fame.

He has written two books on Marines in football: “The Old Core”

and “(Quite) A Few Good Men.”

And while he is surely the foremost authority on the subject of

Marines and their deeds on the playing fields, he also knows he is

constantly in the “learning mode.”

One of his recent discoveries is Dusty Baker.

While he sends out his e-mails on Monday, he finds his in-box

stuffed on a daily basis, usually with 50 or more, aside from the

junk.

His list of names regarding Marines on the field of play is in the

area of 10,000, and chances are if Corporal Jones spins a no-hitter

for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Gunn will find it, and so note.

In a word the net result of Gunn’s work is “priceless.”

Some 61 generals are on his list of recipients, but there is still

room for more, and you don’t need stars on your collar. So if you

have a Marine or former Marine in your family tree, do him or her a

favor and offer this address: [email protected]

There’s a good chance they’ll be glad you did.

Hey! See you next Sunday!

* ROGER CARLSON is the former sports editor for the Daily Pilot.

His column appears on Sundays. He can be reached by e-mail at

[email protected].