John Frost

Birth date: Apr 9, 1948 Death date: Feb 14, 2021

John Frost, 72, of Greeneville, passed away Sunday afternoon. He was a decorated Vietnam War veteran and a retired carpenter/woodworker. He was a member of Moose Lodge No. 692. Survivors include one son: Casey Frost; three sisters: Carol, Terry, and Laurie; one brother: Marc; special friends: Tracy and her children: Christopher and Cassandra. He was a son of the late George and Eleanor Frost. The family will receive friends from 6 – 8 p.m. on Wednesday at Doughty-Stevens Funeral Home. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Mountain Home National Cemetery. The Rev. Jim Fain will officiate and the Tennessee National Guard will perform military honors.Read Obituary

Tribute Wall Obituary Events Media

Doughty-Stevens Funeral Home

166w ago

Created a Tribute Video in memory of John Frost.

Jackie Tyler

166w ago

The normal Recon platoon patrol was 3-5 days. We had been out on a 43-day operation in Viet Nam’s Chu Prong Mountains, a very hostile area. One soldier quit Recon out of fear when we found out we were going there. Things did not go well for our battalion the last time they were there. John and I were among the many the replacements for the troops lost the last time they were there.

After the operation, we were flown to Firebase Oasis whose layout was not known to us. To decompress from the operation, John and I was sharing a sip of Johnny Walker Scotch from a fifth I had carried those 43 day.

While we had never heard the sound before. John and I looked at each other, we said some very unchristian words, and started running looking for a bunker. We intuitively knew what it was. A series of 122mm rockets was raining down on the firebase.

We saw a couple well-built bunkers to our left and ran towards them. After a couple Three Stooges/Keystone Cops maneuvers, we quickly ran away from the bunkers. We had almost run into two ammo bunkers storing 155mm and 175mm artillery shells.

After running around, we spotted another bunker. We found ourselves in a three-man bunker...we were the first in. “After the all Clear”, we counted and found we had shared it with eleven other soldiers.

It was something we always laughed about over the years.

John was a good man...he will be missed....

Chitown Kid aka Jackie

Doc

166w ago

Rest in Peace my friend! You'll be missed, but always remembered.

Len

166w ago

I also served with John in Vietnam. Fifteen years ago I attended my first 35th Infantry reunion where I found John to be the same man that I knew fifty years ago. Words like respectful, thoughtful, kind, fun loving,and talented are just some words that describe John to me. He was an incredibly dependable brave soldier in Nam and a special friend since reunited back home. While in Vietnam our platoon primarily worked in the Central Highlands along the Cambodian border which was comprised of thick mountainous triple canopy jungle. Due to the thick foliage our maps were sometimes useless in determining our location when we needed artillery or gunship support. To combat this problem we used a "pace man" to keep track of steps from our last known location. John was by far the best pace man that we had. At times we tried to rotate this responsibility to another man but found that no one could keep track of our steps and remember the count like John did. We finally designated him our permanent pace man. Around two months ago I was having a phone conversation with John and told him that his skill in accurately keeping count, and most importantly remembering his count, most likely saved some of our lives when we needed support while in a firefight! He will be greatly missed by all but is now resting in peace. You are gone but will never be forgotten.
I have attached a few photos. The first photo is John during a break while on a mission. The next is a thank you cake the Firebase cooks made for our platoon after we found and destroyed a site the NVA used to send to send rockets into the Firebase.The next photo is our platoon at the end of a long mission. The next one is John and three other men posing while out on a mission.It is followed by a photo of having some fun between missions. The next photo was also taken on a Firebase during a break between missions. And the last photo also on a Firebase of John and two other men in his platoon checking our a 4-Deuce mortar pit.
My sincerest condolences from my wife Joan and I to John's family. We loved John so much!

Paul Lafalce

166w ago

I served with John in Vietnam. We were brothers in arms and stayed close over the past two decades thanks to our reunions with the 35th Infantry Association. I will miss him dearly. My prayers go out to Casey and his family. Attached is a photo of our Recon Platoon celebrating a successful mission with a cake the firebase cooks made for us. John is in the middle holding the cake. I had a photo of John getting his haircut by fellow Recon brother Dave Perez on a firebase near Pleiku Vietnam. Then one with John and Dave at our Reno reunion up at Squaw Valley. Another photo of John and me with some of our Recon family also at Squaw Valley. Rest In Peace my Brother.

Len

166w ago

Your Brothers Forever

166w ago

Sent a Magnificent Life Spray to the Frost family.

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Linda Houston

166w ago

Casey, I am so sorry for your loss. I remember meeting your dad. He was a very nice man and I enjoyed talking with him. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Bill Henson

166w ago

John was a special friend and 2/35 Infantry brother. A good man who will be missed.

Bill Henson
E Co. 2/35 Infantry Regiment Association

Len

166w ago