Marine First Lieutenant John Damore

Serving in the Marines after four years in college, he helped his platoon maintain a constant state of readiness after the Korean War.

The only son of six children, John Damore was born in Berwyn, Illinois, to Lorenzo and Teresa Latoria Damore. Lorenzo emigrated from Bari, Italy, and Teresa was born in Franklin Park. They and their 19 children were recognized at the 1933-34 World’s Fair in Chicago as the largest Italian family in the United States.

Damore thrived in his large, loving family, spending every weekend on his grandparents’ farm. “Everybody worked on the farm when they were old enough,” Damore says. “We used to go up there every Saturday. My parents would leave us there.” He remembers the children all squeezing together to fit on the bed. His parents returned the next day and several families shared Sunday dinner together. “I was very young at the time, but I can remember at least 20 people every weekend,” Damore says.

His father, an Italian immigrant with only one week of formal education, owned and operated Damore Cement Construction. As the oldest of her many siblings, Damore’s mother began cooking for her family at 11 years old and Damore and his sisters benefited from her cooking experience. “We used to have wonderful food every night,” Damore says. “Everything she served was delicious.”

Damore attended Ames Grade School and Hauser Middle School in Riverside. He graduated from Riverside Brookfield High School, excelling in the classroom and on the football field. While in high school, Damore worked for his father as a laborer, learning the cement trade. He graduated in 1951, earning a full football scholarship to Northwestern University in Evanston.

On the advice of the Northwestern administration and his football coach, Damore join the deferred military program. The Korean War was going strong and Northwestern wanted to keep Damore on the gridiron, not the battlefield! Damore joined the U.S. Marines with an obligation to serve two years of active duty upon graduation. “I was very proud to sign up with the Marine Corps,” Damore says. “I thought I was tough.”

Damore’s parents were not thrilled with his decision. “My mother especially, because at that time the Marines were known as the first ones to go to war,” says Damore. His father fought for the Italian Army during World War I and told his son about a particular incident. Driving a horse and buggy, Lorenzo was tasked with delivering shoes to soldiers on the front line. He was attacked by the enemy on the way, robbed of the shoes and let go. Lorenzo returned to his commanding officer and told him what had happened. As punishment, he was tied to a post on the front line. “He lasted the whole night without getting shot at,” Damore says.

As a Northwestern student, Damore attended a weekly class led by a Marine Medal of Honor recipient, learning to serve his country. Every summer, he attended a training session at the Marine Base in Quantico, Virginia. Damore honed the basic skills of becoming a combat-ready Marine, including physical strength and endurance, marksmanship, discipline and Marine values. “They showed me how to be a Marine,” Damore says.

Damore played football all four years at Northwestern, was co-captain his senior year and graduated with a bachelor’s in business in 1955. Soon afterward, he was drafted by the New York Giants, just prior to the 1955 football season. “I did not think I was one to play pro football,” Damore says. “I looked at myself as a great high school player, a pretty good college player but a mediocre pro.”

The recruiter came to Damore’s house on a Saturday, offered him a $9,000 contract and placed a $500 bonus in his hands if he signed immediately. “I said I can’t take it because I gotta go into the Marine Corps Monday,” Damore says. He then explained about the deferment he took with a two-year active-duty obligation upon graduation so he could stay in college and play football. The recruiter replied, “Okay, we’ll contact you after you get out.”

Damore reported to Quantico and began active duty as a Second Lieutenant. He was assigned as assistant platoon leader and eventually advanced to platoon leader. Damore bunked with officers in barracks on the base, which was a short distance from Washington, D.C. He and his buddies often visited the nation’s capital on weekend breaks. Damore led his platoon of 13 enlisted men in daily training, drilling and maneuvers, enforcing the skills and discipline necessary to maintain readiness for combat. “I ran the platoon, I marched with them, I called the marches with them,” Damore says. “We had pretend wars.”

In one close-call incident, military intelligence was alerted to a possible attack on the Panama Canal. In a constant state of combat readiness, Damore and his unit boarded a heavily armed ship with their weapons and ammo and headed toward the Canal. “I spent one day on the ship and then they said, ‘Go back,’ ” Damore says. He does not know what happened. “It was a serious thing, but they canceled it right away.”

In addition to his job as platoon leader, Damore acted as the officer in charge of guest accommodations at Quantico. The base contained a guest hotel that provided accommodations for military personnel and their families as well as visiting dignitaries.

Damore checked on availability, prioritized and coordinated reservations and made sure that all guests were made welcome and comfortable. “I took care of them,” Damore says. “I got them rooms in the hotel on base.”

Damore fulfilled his active-duty obligation with the Marines at Quantico. One week before his two years ended, he was transferred to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to serve his final days. Much to his surprise, he met up with several football friends while there. “It was very enjoyable,” Damore says. He was discharged in 1957 as First Lieutenant.

He returned to his parents in Riverside and began working full time at his father’s business and soon after, the New York Giants recruiter called him to play football. Damore explained that he needed to stay in Chicago to help his dad with the business. “I got traded to the Bears,” he says.

Damore played as an offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears from 1957 to 1959, when he retired due to an ankle injury. The oldest living former Bears player, Damore is proud of the game ball given to him by his teammates during the game in which he injured his ankle.

Damore married Joyce Albert in 1961 and they have two children, Alison and Larry, and two grandchildren. He ran Damore Cement Construction for several years before opening Damore Builders with his son.

Reflecting on his time with the Marines, Damore says, “I loved it. There is no prouder group of men that I know, except maybe football players, than a Marine, any Marine. The Marines were the best.”

The above article appears in the May 2026 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture.

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