John receives Meritorious Service Medal

Charles A. Bidwell/Special to the Daily Mail Sgt. First Class Kannon K. John of Joplin, smiles at the words offered to him by Missouri Army National Guard 203rd Engineer Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Eddie Boyer, of De Soto, while Boyer pins on the Meritorious Service Medal during a recent ceremony. Capt. Bob Spurgeon of Dixon (far right) and members of the Headquarters Company 203rd Engineer Battalion stand at attention, watching.

Joplin -- Sgt. 1st Class Kannon K. John, of Joplin, recently received the Meritorious Service Medal for his support and assistance in his local Missouri Army National Guard unit receiving the Supply Excellence Award.

"Providing soldiers the supplies, equipment, and services necessary to complete their mission is a rewarding job. When the soldiers are successful, we are successful. Getting an award is just the icing on the cake," said John.

John, a full-time National Guardsman, is an 18-year veteran of the Missouri Army National Guard. He is also a member of Headquarters Company, 203rd Engineer Battalion located at the Joplin armory, where he is the battalion supply sergeant.

His duties include coordinating with company supply personnel to ensure they have the logistical supply items they need to function as a unit and be able to perform their missions. This is a job he has performed not only at the Joplin location but when the unit deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

"Basically I advise the S-4 officer and the battalion staff on matters involving logistics. The biggest part of my job centers on the logistical readiness of our subordinate units to be able to respond to state emergency duties, training exercises, and deployments to a theatre of operations," said John.

John is the son of Phil John of Michigan City, Ind. He is a graduate of Nevada High School and he currently attends Columbia College earning his degree in business management. He resides in Joplin with his wife Angela and children Morgan and Matthew.