Col. John Joseph Masters

Col. John Joseph Masters, (U.S. Army, retired), 87, of St. Augustine, Fla., died Sept, 14, 2012 at Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. He was a heritage native of St. Augustine and a faithful member of San Sebastian Catholic Church.

Col. Masters was born in St. Augustine, Fla., Sept. 8, 1924 and was a graduate of St. Joseph Academy. In 1942, before his entry into active military service, he served as a private in Company D, 3rd Battalion, Florida Defense Force at St. Augustine, Fla.

In 1944, he attended Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga. where he received his commission as a 2nd lieutenant. He joined Company I, 315th Infantry, 79th Infantry Division as an Infantry Platoon Leader and fought in the Battle of Rittershoffen-Hatten, France, where he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star Medal and the Presidential Unit Citation. After further action at Bischweiller, France, Col. Masters participated with his division in the initial amphibious assault waves across the Rhine River where he earned the Silver Star Medal. He was wounded in further action and received a battlefield promotion to 1stLieutenant. For a short time after the close of the war in Europe, Col. Masters commanded a Russian and Polish Displaced Persons Camp and later commanded the company guarding the Palace of Justice for the Nuremburg war crime trials.

From 1952 to 1954, he served as the assistant professor of Military Science and Tactics, ROTC, for five of the Atlanta Public High Schools where he met a school teacher, Cleo Sampson who later became his wife.

In August 1954, Col. Masters was assigned to Korea with duty at the 17th Infantry, 7th Infantry Division at Camp Kaiser. Upon completion of his tour in Korea in 1956, he was detailed to duty with the Army Security Agency at Fort Devens, Mass.

In 1964, he graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and assumed command of the 303d ASA Battalion at Fort Wolters, Texas. In 1966, he took the battalion to South Vietnam; participating in the Vietnam Counter-offensive, Phase I and II campaigns, and was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm.

His final military assignment was commander, Army Security Agency Europe with Headquarters at Heidelberg, Germany, from which he was retired from active service on Sept. 1, 1975. During his 32-year military career, Col. Masters was twice awarded the Legion of Merit.

During his long post military retirement, Col. Masters enjoyed a wide range of hobbies and activities. In addition to being a lifelong sportsman, enjoying hunting and fishing, he was an enthusiastic coin collector and gentleman farmer. He was actively involved in the Boy Scouts of America since childhood. After his scoutmaster was drafted during World War II, he took over as the scoutmaster of Troop 63 while still a high school student. He also started several new troops during his lengthy military career. As Graves Committee chair for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Florida Division, he initiated and maintained a database of over 9,000 Confederate soldiers buried in Florida. This work aids in ancestor research and most importantly identifies graves and places headstones and markers on graves of soldiers who had none. In 2002, Col. Masters was honored with the Gov. John Milton Award, one of the highest awards the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Florida Division can bestow. He was a lifetime, charter member and past president of the St. Augustine German American Club, a past commander in the Sons of Confederate Veterans, past commander Military Order of the Stars and Bars, life member of the American Legion, life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and active supporter of the Republican Party.

Visitation will be held 6 p.m. Friday with prayers beginning at 7 p.m. at San Sebastian Catholic Church. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Saturday at San Sebastian Catholic Church, the Rev. Thomas Walsh, officiating, followed by burial with full military honors in San Lorenzo Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a charitable donation in his honor to the San Sebastian Catholic Church Religious Education Enrichment Center or the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.

He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Cleo Sampson; sons and daughters-in-law, Lt. Col. (ret.) John Jr. (Katrina Duren) Masters and Col. (ret.) Burton (Jolanda Heuts) Masters; daughter, Col. Elizabeth Masters and her husband Lt. Col. (P) Mark Tolzmann; and five grandchildren, Jack, Maria, Michael, Steven and Kaleb Tolzmann, who were devoted to him until the end and brought him great joy. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Lt. Col. (ret.) Donald (Ina) Masters, many nieces, nephews and cousins.

The family would like to thank Dr. Barry Dobies, Dr. Kishwar Hussain, Interim Health Care, CVS Pharmacy at S.R. 312 and their staff for their dedicated care.

Craig Funeral Home Crematory Memorial Park (www.craigfuneralhome.com) is in charge of the arrangements.