The John P. Connors Memorial Fund is planning a statue in the likeness of Navy SEAL John Connors to represent the modern warfighter. The statue will be placed in a public park in his Massachusetts hometown. (John P. Connors Memorial Fund)
WASHINGTON — Navy SEAL John Connors seemed bulletproof to the people who knew him best — fellow members of SEAL Team 4 and classmates from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering.
At 25, Connors was one of the strongest members of his team, had a scholar’s intellect and spoke several languages, including Spanish.
He was the logical choice to lead a squad in an overnight raid at a Panama airport in 1989 as part of the larger U.S. military invasion of the nation in Central America to capture dictator Gen. Manuel Noriega.
But early in the assault — in a matter of minutes — Panamanian Defense Forces opened fire as Connors and several others crossed the airport tarmac.
Connors was hit in the chest. He died instantly. Three other SEALs were killed, and several more wounded.
More than three decades later, retired Navy SEALs, family members and college classmates have come together to honor Connors, a lieutenant junior grade, with a memorial in the coastal town where he grew up.
“John was an Irish boy from the South Shore of Massachusetts, a kid from a working-class town. We are making sure his story is not forgotten,” said Tom Cappelletti, a 25-year Air Force veteran and college classmate of Connors.
John Connors, 25, was a lieutenant junior grade who had completed his Navy SEAL training in March 1988. Connors, who had a degree in chemical engineering, participated in the December 1989 invasion of Panama. His SEAL team’s mission was to disable Gen. Manuel Noriega’s Learjet to prevent the dictator’s escape. (John P. Connors Memorial Fund)
As the Dec. 20 anniversary of the Panama invasion nears, the John P. Connors Memorial Fund, a nonprofit organization, is highlighting Connors’ military service to raise awareness about plans to place a larger-than-life bronze statue of Connors in Scituate, Mass.
The goal is to erect a 14-foot-tall monument with a granite base in Lawson Common, a town park where other war memorials are located. “The statue will honor all veterans of the modern era of warfare. We’re building a community to honor John,” Cappelletti said.
The project is estimated to cost $1 million. A fund drive is underway to raise $450,000 in donations needed to complete the project.
In December 1989, President George H.W. Bush had the support of Congress for the Panama invasion — called Operation Just Cause — to capture Noriega and bring him to the U.S. to face charges of drug trafficking and racketeering.
The Bush administration also wanted to secure continued operations of the Panama Canal.
Panama’s national assembly had passed a resolution proclaiming “a state of war existed with the United States,” according to a 1995 report by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Noriega named himself ‘maximum leader’ of Panama,” according to the 100-page review of Operation Just Cause.
SEAL Team 4 was one of two SEAL teams that slipped into Panama on Dec. 19 to assist in the military operation, to commence on Dec. 20.
SEAL Team 4’s mission was to disable Noriega’s personal Learjet at Paitilla Airport in Panama City. The airport was one of two dozen sites targeted for military strikes.
“House guards across the airfield began to fire upon their position, putting them in a deadly crossfire,” according to an account by the Navy SEAL Museum.
The attack at the airport succeeded but exacted a heavy toll as SEAL Team 4 came under fire from Panamanian forces.
Connors and three other SEALS were killed in the firefight — Chief Petty Officer Donald McFaul, Torpedoman’s Mate 2nd Class Isaac Rodriguez and Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Chris Tilghman.
“I think about my buddies every day,” said Ross Munro, a retired master chief petty officer and Navy SEAL who had participated in the assault.
“In my first bit of combat, my first 15 minutes, I lost four friends. I wear a bracelet on a daily basis. It has their names on it. Not a day goes by that I don’t remember them,” Munro said on the podcast, “From Embers to Excellence.”
Connors nearly missed the Panama mission.
Prior to the deployment, he was a patient at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center receiving intravenous treatment for a parasitic disease acquired while training in South America.
Joan Connors, mother of Navy SEAL John Connors, killed in action in 1989, stands with Chris Boova, a classmate of her son at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The two attended a fundraiser for a statue planned in John’s likeness to honor modern warfighters. (Joan Connors)
But Connors decided to forgo more care and checked himself out of the hospital to return to Seal Team 4 and participate in Operation Just Cause, said Joan Connors, his 91-year-old mother.
The decision, which she learned about later, did not surprise her. “John dedicated himself fully to whatever he did,” she said.
Connors had completed his SEAL training in March 1988 but later broke his ankle while exiting a helicopter off the coast of Iran. He continued on the mission and sought treatment after it was completed.
“He told me: You’re not supposed to expose the pain,” Joan Connors said.
John was the youngest child in a large Catholic family. He was an altar boy at St. Mary’s Church in Scituate and attended Boston College High School, a private Catholic school.
He was the only one of the five Connors children — three boys and two girls — to pursue a military career.
“John was always smiling. He was a happy-go-lucky kid who chose the most difficult goals and tasks to accomplish,” said Joan Connors, who now lives in Arlington, Mass., near Mount Pleasant Cemetery, where her son is buried. She often visits his gravesite.
“John was self-driven and carried a strong sense of right and wrong. I never had to worry about him,” she said.
Artist Chas Fagan is shown in 2016 sculpting “Freedom’s Charge,” which depicts Revolutionary War soldiers and a billowing battalion flag. The bronze sculpture is displayed at Old Parkland in Dallas, a historic campus that preserves American history. Fagan is developing a statue in the likeness of John Connors as a tribute to modern warfighters. (Chas Fagan)
The statue memorializing Connors is being designed by sculptor Chas Fagan, of North Carolina. Fagan has created a scale model of the sculpture, called a maquette, as a step in the process. He also painted a watercolor of Lawson Common in Scituate that depicts the statue in its future park setting.
Fagan is a well-known artist whose creations of historical figures are immediately recognizable.
They include a sculpture of President Ronald Reagan displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, and a bronze statue of President George H.W. Bush as a young Navy pilot that stands in the tribute room of the aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush, homeported in Norfolk, Va.
John Connors is shown with friends on his commissioning day on May 29, 1987. The formal ceremony recognized college graduates as they became commissioned as officers. From left to right are: Joe Poggenburg, Connors, Karen Tsiantas and David Tiberii. (John P. Connors Memorial Fund)
“In an era where fewer Americans serve, it is more important than ever to remind future generations of the real people behind our freedoms. The memorial will be in John’s likeness but will honor and pay tribute to all veterans of modern warfare,” said Navy veteran Karen Tsiantas, of Virginia, who trained with Connors in ROTC when both were college students.
The two were commissioned together through the College of the Holy Cross Navy ROTC unit in 1987, said Tsiantas, a retired Navy captain who served for 27 years.
Supporters say the statue of Connors representing modern warfighters will make Scituate an attractive destination away from major military monuments often crowded with tourists.
Connors was awarded the Silver Star posthumously. The citation states in part: “With full knowledge of the present danger, he inspired his fellow platoon members by directing fire and aggressively firing his weapon into enemy positions.”
The Silver Star honors service members who exhibit “gallantry in action” against an enemy during a military operation.
“It’s been 36 years since John was killed in action in the service of this nation,” Cappelletti said. “The John P. Connors Memorial Fund is working to diligently honor his memory, sacrifice and service.”
