A fighter to the very end, the great John Stewart Moorhouse, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, died on August 13, 2015, leaving behind Carolyn, his beloved wife of 62 years, and his five children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Moorhouse received a Purple Heart for his injuries on the battlefield in World War II, but it was his extraordinary kindness and remarkable spirit that made him a true hero to his family, friends, and the residents of Coronado, who always returned his infectious smile as he pedaled his bike around town or directed the July 4th parade traffic as a volunteer patrolman with the Coronado Police Department.
Moorhouse was born in Beijing (formerly Peking), China, on Feb. 16, 1927, to British émigrés John and Irene. He grew up learning to speak Mandarin, running a rickshaw and idolizing the U.S. Marines training near the British compound in which he lived. After the Japanese invasion of China in the mid-'30s, he relocated with his parents and sister Violet to Coronado, where he lived the rest of his life.
After graduating from Coronado High School in 1943, John's sole focus was to join the U.S. Marines and help free his father from a Shanghai Japanese Prisoner of War camp. At 5-foot-6, the 18-year-old was initially turned away by the Marines ("you should try the Navy"), but a year of persistence eventually paid off. In 1944 he joined the USMC and was deployed to the South Pacific later that year. As a private he earned the honorary nickname "Gunny" because the platoon hustled into place when they heard his loud, direct commands — only to be dismayed to find it was little Private Moorhouse shouting the order, at his lieutenant's request, and not the gunnery sergeant.
In Okinawa in 1945, an enemy sniper shot Gunny through the head. The bullet entered his temple and exited behind his ear. He lay wounded in a ditch for four hours. He was eventually rescued from battle by his platoon (and received a Purple Heart), but the injury meant he would live the remainder of his life with severe tinnitus.
After weeks of recuperation on a ship in the Pacific, hearing the terrible sounds of kamikazes attacking nearby, he rejoined his troop. As the war ended, his platoon was deployed to his birthplace of Peking. Gunny was assigned to drive the lead jeep into the heart of the city and to the foreign embassy encampment that he used to call home. Along the route, he recognized people he had known in his childhood. They lined the streets and cheered the troops entering the city. Within a few days his commanding officer allowed him to leave to be reunited with his father in Shanghai, where he had been freed from the POW camp just a few days prior.
Moorhouse worked at the U.S. Post Office in Coronado for 35 years, from 1946 until his retirement in 1981, meeting his wife there and concluding his career as Coronado Postmaster.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the 1st Marine Division, the Korean War Veterans Association, and the U.S. Marine Corp Recruiting Depot Historical Association.
He was also a lifetime member of the 20-30 Club and was honored early in 2015 for 20 years of service as part of the inaugural class of the Coronado Police Department's Senior Volunteer Patrol.
He was also a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Coronado in 1951, where he served in various capacities as treasurer, trustee, usher and, for 40 years, producer of the old-school mimeographed church bulletin.
Moorhouse was an active supporter of the Democratic Party for 68 years, ever since he first registered to vote at age 21 in 1947.
John Moorhouse passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospital surrounded by his family, who took comfort remembering his huge smile and the life that he celebrated as a "prayer without ceasing."
Services are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22 at 2 pm in the Garden Chapel at Greenwood Memorial Park, 4300 Imperial Ave, San Diego. A reception will be held following the service at the First Baptist Church of Coronado, 445 C Ave, Coronado. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the First Baptist Church of Coronado.
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Moorhouse received a Purple Heart for his injuries on the battlefield in World War II, but it was his extraordinary kindness and remarkable spirit that made him a true hero to his family, friends, and the residents of Coronado, who always returned his infectious smile as he pedaled his bike around town or directed the July 4th parade traffic as a volunteer patrolman with the Coronado Police Department.
Moorhouse was born in Beijing (formerly Peking), China, on Feb. 16, 1927, to British émigrés John and Irene. He grew up learning to speak Mandarin, running a rickshaw and idolizing the U.S. Marines training near the British compound in which he lived. After the Japanese invasion of China in the mid-'30s, he relocated with his parents and sister Violet to Coronado, where he lived the rest of his life.
After graduating from Coronado High School in 1943, John's sole focus was to join the U.S. Marines and help free his father from a Shanghai Japanese Prisoner of War camp. At 5-foot-6, the 18-year-old was initially turned away by the Marines ("you should try the Navy"), but a year of persistence eventually paid off. In 1944 he joined the USMC and was deployed to the South Pacific later that year. As a private he earned the honorary nickname "Gunny" because the platoon hustled into place when they heard his loud, direct commands — only to be dismayed to find it was little Private Moorhouse shouting the order, at his lieutenant's request, and not the gunnery sergeant.
In Okinawa in 1945, an enemy sniper shot Gunny through the head. The bullet entered his temple and exited behind his ear. He lay wounded in a ditch for four hours. He was eventually rescued from battle by his platoon (and received a Purple Heart), but the injury meant he would live the remainder of his life with severe tinnitus.
After weeks of recuperation on a ship in the Pacific, hearing the terrible sounds of kamikazes attacking nearby, he rejoined his troop. As the war ended, his platoon was deployed to his birthplace of Peking. Gunny was assigned to drive the lead jeep into the heart of the city and to the foreign embassy encampment that he used to call home. Along the route, he recognized people he had known in his childhood. They lined the streets and cheered the troops entering the city. Within a few days his commanding officer allowed him to leave to be reunited with his father in Shanghai, where he had been freed from the POW camp just a few days prior.
Moorhouse worked at the U.S. Post Office in Coronado for 35 years, from 1946 until his retirement in 1981, meeting his wife there and concluding his career as Coronado Postmaster.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the 1st Marine Division, the Korean War Veterans Association, and the U.S. Marine Corp Recruiting Depot Historical Association.
He was also a lifetime member of the 20-30 Club and was honored early in 2015 for 20 years of service as part of the inaugural class of the Coronado Police Department's Senior Volunteer Patrol.
He was also a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Coronado in 1951, where he served in various capacities as treasurer, trustee, usher and, for 40 years, producer of the old-school mimeographed church bulletin.
Moorhouse was an active supporter of the Democratic Party for 68 years, ever since he first registered to vote at age 21 in 1947.
John Moorhouse passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospital surrounded by his family, who took comfort remembering his huge smile and the life that he celebrated as a "prayer without ceasing."
Services are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22 at 2 pm in the Garden Chapel at Greenwood Memorial Park, 4300 Imperial Ave, San Diego. A reception will be held following the service at the First Baptist Church of Coronado, 445 C Ave, Coronado. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the First Baptist Church of Coronado.
________________________________________
A fighter to the very end, the great John Stewart Moorhouse, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, died on August 13, 2015, leaving behind Carolyn, his beloved wife of 62 years, and his five children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Moorhouse received a Purple Heart for his injuries on the battlefield in World War II, but it was his extraordinary kindness and remarkable spirit that made him a true hero to his family, friends, and the residents of Coronado, who always returned his infectious smile as he pedaled his bike around town or directed the July 4th parade traffic as a volunteer patrolman with the Coronado Police Department.
Moorhouse was born in Beijing (formerly Peking), China, on Feb. 16, 1927, to British émigrés John and Irene. He grew up learning to speak Mandarin, running a rickshaw and idolizing the U.S. Marines training near the British compound in which he lived. After the Japanese invasion of China in the mid-'30s, he relocated with his parents and sister Violet to Coronado, where he lived the rest of his life.
After graduating from Coronado High School in 1943, John's sole focus was to join the U.S. Marines and help free his father from a Shanghai Japanese Prisoner of War camp. At 5-foot-6, the 18-year-old was initially turned away by the Marines ("you should try the Navy"), but a year of persistence eventually paid off. In 1944 he joined the USMC and was deployed to the South Pacific later that year. As a private he earned the honorary nickname "Gunny" because the platoon hustled into place when they heard his loud, direct commands — only to be dismayed to find it was little Private Moorhouse shouting the order, at his lieutenant's request, and not the gunnery sergeant.
In Okinawa in 1945, an enemy sniper shot Gunny through the head. The bullet entered his temple and exited behind his ear. He lay wounded in a ditch for four hours. He was eventually rescued from battle by his platoon (and received a Purple Heart), but the injury meant he would live the remainder of his life with severe tinnitus.
After weeks of recuperation on a ship in the Pacific, hearing the terrible sounds of kamikazes attacking nearby, he rejoined his troop. As the war ended, his platoon was deployed to his birthplace of Peking. Gunny was assigned to drive the lead jeep into the heart of the city and to the foreign embassy encampment that he used to call home. Along the route, he recognized people he had known in his childhood. They lined the streets and cheered the troops entering the city. Within a few days his commanding officer allowed him to leave to be reunited with his father in Shanghai, where he had been freed from the POW camp just a few days prior.
Moorhouse worked at the U.S. Post Office in Coronado for 35 years, from 1946 until his retirement in 1981, meeting his wife there and concluding his career as Coronado Postmaster.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the 1st Marine Division, the Korean War Veterans Association, and the U.S. Marine Corp Recruiting Depot Historical Association.
He was also a lifetime member of the 20-30 Club and was honored early in 2015 for 20 years of service as part of the inaugural class of the Coronado Police Department's Senior Volunteer Patrol.
He was also a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Coronado in 1951, where he served in various capacities as treasurer, trustee, usher and, for 40 years, producer of the old-school mimeographed church bulletin.
Moorhouse was an active supporter of the Democratic Party for 68 years, ever since he first registered to vote at age 21 in 1947.
John Moorhouse passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospital surrounded by his family, who took comfort remembering his huge smile and the life that he celebrated as a "prayer without ceasing."
Services are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22 at 2 pm in the Garden Chapel at Greenwood Memorial Park, 4300 Imperial Ave, San Diego. A reception will be held following the service at the First Baptist Church of Coronado, 445 C Ave, Coronado. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the First Baptist Church of Coronado.
________________________________________
Moorhouse received a Purple Heart for his injuries on the battlefield in World War II, but it was his extraordinary kindness and remarkable spirit that made him a true hero to his family, friends, and the residents of Coronado, who always returned his infectious smile as he pedaled his bike around town or directed the July 4th parade traffic as a volunteer patrolman with the Coronado Police Department.
Moorhouse was born in Beijing (formerly Peking), China, on Feb. 16, 1927, to British émigrés John and Irene. He grew up learning to speak Mandarin, running a rickshaw and idolizing the U.S. Marines training near the British compound in which he lived. After the Japanese invasion of China in the mid-'30s, he relocated with his parents and sister Violet to Coronado, where he lived the rest of his life.
After graduating from Coronado High School in 1943, John's sole focus was to join the U.S. Marines and help free his father from a Shanghai Japanese Prisoner of War camp. At 5-foot-6, the 18-year-old was initially turned away by the Marines ("you should try the Navy"), but a year of persistence eventually paid off. In 1944 he joined the USMC and was deployed to the South Pacific later that year. As a private he earned the honorary nickname "Gunny" because the platoon hustled into place when they heard his loud, direct commands — only to be dismayed to find it was little Private Moorhouse shouting the order, at his lieutenant's request, and not the gunnery sergeant.
In Okinawa in 1945, an enemy sniper shot Gunny through the head. The bullet entered his temple and exited behind his ear. He lay wounded in a ditch for four hours. He was eventually rescued from battle by his platoon (and received a Purple Heart), but the injury meant he would live the remainder of his life with severe tinnitus.
After weeks of recuperation on a ship in the Pacific, hearing the terrible sounds of kamikazes attacking nearby, he rejoined his troop. As the war ended, his platoon was deployed to his birthplace of Peking. Gunny was assigned to drive the lead jeep into the heart of the city and to the foreign embassy encampment that he used to call home. Along the route, he recognized people he had known in his childhood. They lined the streets and cheered the troops entering the city. Within a few days his commanding officer allowed him to leave to be reunited with his father in Shanghai, where he had been freed from the POW camp just a few days prior.
Moorhouse worked at the U.S. Post Office in Coronado for 35 years, from 1946 until his retirement in 1981, meeting his wife there and concluding his career as Coronado Postmaster.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the 1st Marine Division, the Korean War Veterans Association, and the U.S. Marine Corp Recruiting Depot Historical Association.
He was also a lifetime member of the 20-30 Club and was honored early in 2015 for 20 years of service as part of the inaugural class of the Coronado Police Department's Senior Volunteer Patrol.
He was also a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Coronado in 1951, where he served in various capacities as treasurer, trustee, usher and, for 40 years, producer of the old-school mimeographed church bulletin.
Moorhouse was an active supporter of the Democratic Party for 68 years, ever since he first registered to vote at age 21 in 1947.
John Moorhouse passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospital surrounded by his family, who took comfort remembering his huge smile and the life that he celebrated as a "prayer without ceasing."
Services are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22 at 2 pm in the Garden Chapel at Greenwood Memorial Park, 4300 Imperial Ave, San Diego. A reception will be held following the service at the First Baptist Church of Coronado, 445 C Ave, Coronado. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the First Baptist Church of Coronado.
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