John Eade

1943 - 2022

News story
By Luke Ramseth
Blade Staff Writer
????
John Eade, a Toledo native who ?narrowly? survived the Vietnam War's deadliest single-day battle and went on to high-level roles in political campaigns, architecture, and government, died Wednesday at his cousin's home in Lambertville. He was 79.

Mr. Eade battled lung cancer for more than two years, and ?the disease? ?had also spread to his brain and bones, his cousin and caretaker Elaine Bender said. Last September a doctor informed? the? family he had about a month to live, she said. He fought for another eight.??

"He's probably the greatest soldier I personally know, of our generation," said U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who was friends with Mr. Eade.

Mr. Eade suffered multiple life-threatening wounds and lost his right eye in a? Nov. 17,? 1965, Vietnam battle in the remote Ia Drang Valley, after North Vietnamese soldiers ambushed the 21-year-old and hundreds of his Army colleagues.

The clash at Landing Zone Albany left 155 Americans dead and 124 wounded. Sergeant Eade was the lone survivor of his platoon. He kept fighting even after the enemy shot him in the hip, shoulder, and face, after a shell fragment struck his foot, and after suffering burns from an American napalm strike.

For the last year, Ms. Kaptur has pushed the Army to award Mr. Eade a Distinguished Service Cross, the branch's second-highest decoration, for his actions that day. Army officials ultimately declined, she said, because no eyewitnesses survived to confirm what happened to him.

Instead, Ms. Kaptur said, the Army recently awarded Mr. Eade a Bronze Star, which she presented to him about a week ago.

"He walked toward his end with utter dignity and courage, I'll tell you that," Ms. Kaptur said.

'Just interested in everything'

Mr. Eade was born April 21, 1943 in Toledo, to Harry and Katherine Eade, and was a 1961 graduate of DeVilbiss High School. One of three siblings, he enlisted in the Army a year after graduation.

After months spent recovering from his injuries at a military hospital, Mr. Eade wasted no time launching himself into college at the University of Toledo - graduating with three degrees - and then a political career.

"John's my hero," said Dan Simrell, the former UT head football coach, who was childhood friends with Mr. Eade and remained close with him throughout life. "What he did is something I don't know if I could ever do."

He was referring to how Mr. Eade survived the Vietnam battle and so swiftly launched himself into school and his career in politics afterward, despite his severe injuries, which could make everyday tasks difficult. Mr. Simrell recalled Mr. Eade frequently stopping by his apartment for spaghetti upon returning to Toledo, even though it was a difficult food for him to eat.

"He was so smart, so intelligent, so well-read," Mr. Simrell said.

Susan Lewis, Mr. Eade's partner of 27 years, said Mr. Eade was set to begin a job for Folgers Coffee after graduation, but the company declined to hire him after it learned he was missing an eye. Instead, he fell into politics, first helping a local candidate, and eventually rising to work on the presidential campaigns of George McGovern, Sargent Shriver, and Jimmy Carter.

In the late 1970s he served as administrator for President Carter's National Commission on Neighborhoods.

"Once he decided to do something, he would just do it," said Mrs. Bender, who recalled Mr. Eade's "very driven" work ethic. She talked to him frequently on the phone over the years, but during a presidential campaign, he would be working at all hours of the night and was almost impossible to reach, she said.

In the early 1980s Mr. Eade pivoted, obtaining a graduate degree in architecture from Ohio's Miami University. Soon he was working for a major Boston architectural firm, volunteer teaching at the Boston Architecture Center - all while still balancing Democratic political consulting work on the side.

In 1994 Mr. Eade started a job as commissioner of inspectional services for the city of Boston, a role he held for four years.

Mr. Eade was exceedingly private and shy, Ms. Lewis said. "But he could be bold when it was necessary, and that was quite often," she added.

He enjoyed boxing, she said, and in the summers would spend weeks or months on backpacking trips. He hiked the Appalachian Trail twice, loved Wyoming's Wind River Range, and once hiked through Spain.

"He was just interested in everything," Ms. Lewis said. "His life almost ended, and when it didn't, he just became interested in everything, because he had that opportunity."

'A call from Biden'

The battle at LZ Albany remained raw for Mr. Eade decades later: In an interview with The Blade late last year, he apologized for tearing up as memories of the "horrendous" day rushed back.

In that interview, Mr. Eade recalled how, one by one, he watched as the three other members of the fire team he led were killed - Wilbert Johnson, Barry Burnite, and Oscar Barker, Jr. Years later he helped secure Silver Stars honoring their actions on the battlefield.

He told The Blade he was deeply uncomfortable with Ms. Kaptur's pursuit of the Distinguished Service Cross to recognize his own actions. So many others in his platoon who died that day, he said, are "the people that deserve this honor, not me."

But she persisted, calling him a hero, and saying he had received inferior recognition from the Army. She still believes he deserves the Distinguished Service Cross, and said she recently sent a letter to Army leaders once again making the case for the higher award after they instead approved the Bronze Star.

Mr. Eade moved back to the Toledo area in September, staying with Mrs. Bender at her Lambertville home. One night several months ago, Mrs. Bender said, they were eating dinner together when she got a call from a Washington, D.C. number she didn't recognize.

It was President Joe Biden, wanting to speak with Mr. Eade. He thanked Mr. Eade for his service, she said, and they chatted about his brain tumor; Mr. Biden's son, Beau Biden, died in 2015 of brain cancer.

"He was incredibly moved by that call, it really meant a lot," Mrs. Bender said of Mr. Eade.

During Ms. Kaptur's final visit a week ago, they discussed Mr. Eade's final resting place - he wants to be buried in Massachusetts, she said. Ms. Kaptur said she asked his permission to have a statue built honoring him, to be located in Toledo.

He saluted her.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Monday at Walker Funeral Home in Toledo. A military funeral will follow the visitation at the same location.

The family suggests tributes to Flag City Honor Flight, in Findlay, or Veterans Matter, in Toledo.