Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn., died Aug. 6 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed. He was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit. John was top of his class. Quarterback. Team captain. His football coach had encouraged the natural-born leader to consider applying to a service academy to become a military officer, but Faas had decided in middle school that he wanted to become a Navy SEAL. The 31-year-old from Minneapolis never wavered about his goal, joining the elite fighting force and becoming a chief petty officer. "This is where John felt he was called," said Ron Monson, the football coach at Minnehaha Academy, a private Christian school in Minneapolis where Faas graduated as the 1998 class valedictorian. The coach said Faas never showed bravado and didn't fit the Hollywood stereotype of a SEAL. Instead, the son of Gretchen and Robert Faas of Minneapolis, was the guy who always stood up for his fellow students. "John was a man of unquestionable integrity and courage, as were those he served with," his family said in a statement. "He became a SEAL to serve his country and to make the world a better place for those less fortunate." He is survived by his parents Gretchen and Robert Faas of Minneapolis; his uncles Dan Faas and Mike Faas and his wife Carol Faas; his cousins Michael Robert Faas and Simone Faas; his aunts Kathryn Shafer, Martha Shafer Gabbert and her husband John Gabbert; his uncle Mark Shafer and his wife Ginger Shafer; and his cousins Laura Gabbert, Anne Gabbert, and Nels Shafer.
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn., died Aug. 6 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed. He was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit. John was top of his class. Quarterback. Team captain. His football coach had encouraged the natural-born leader to consider applying to a service academy to become a military officer, but Faas had decided in middle school that he wanted to become a Navy SEAL. The 31-year-old from Minneapolis never wavered about his goal, joining the elite fighting force and becoming a chief petty officer. "This is where John felt he was called," said Ron Monson, the football coach at Minnehaha Academy, a private Christian school in Minneapolis where Faas graduated as the 1998 class valedictorian. The coach said Faas never showed bravado and didn't fit the Hollywood stereotype of a SEAL. Instead, the son of Gretchen and Robert Faas of Minneapolis, was the guy who always stood up for his fellow students. "John was a man of unquestionable integrity and courage, as were those he served with," his family said in a statement. "He became a SEAL to serve his country and to make the world a better place for those less fortunate." He is survived by his parents Gretchen and Robert Faas of Minneapolis; his uncles Dan Faas and Mike Faas and his wife Carol Faas; his cousins Michael Robert Faas and Simone Faas; his aunts Kathryn Shafer, Martha Shafer Gabbert and her husband John Gabbert; his uncle Mark Shafer and his wife Ginger Shafer; and his cousins Laura Gabbert, Anne Gabbert, and Nels Shafer.
Gravesite Details
His memorial at Arlington Nat'l Cem is FAG #240143584 .
