John Barwinczok

John Barwinczok’s distinguished five year Navy career included being a member of the Under Water Demolition Team 2, the precursor to the Navy Seals. John also served as Post Master for the 6th Fleet in Europe as well as serving a year on a destroyer. Just prior to his discharge, he and his fellow servicemen received “greetings” from President Truman, cancelling all discharges because of the Korean War and thus extending John’s service for another year.

Upon his discharge, John worked at General Electric as a test technician. After a short time he left GE to work for the Department of Defense, to complete his high school education and enroll in college. During his 35 year career with the Federal Government, he served in many capacities from inspector to Quality Manager for the Syracuse and New York areas. John retired in 1987 but his hard work ethic led to the formation of his own company, JB Quality Consulting, which he ran for nearly 15 years.

Always trying to help veterans in his community, John is the founder of the Korean War Veterans Association chapter in Cayuga County where membership has grown from 12 to 82 people in only two and a half years. The chapter raised more than $43,000 for a Korean War monument to honor Cayuga County veterans of the Korean War. The monument was dedicated on July 30, 2006, and is a part of the Veterans Memorial park in downtown Auburn, New York.

John and his loving wife Ginny reside in Auburn, New York, where they have been lifelong residents and active members of the community.