After his stint with Redstone Arsenal, Sgt. John Morrison was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he was a Transportation Sergeant for the next four years. Fort Riley is home of the 1st Infantry Division [The Big Red OneIt is home to the 1st Infantry Division [The Big Red One]. Morrison claimed that he spent most of his time chauffeuring generals and congressmen. Morrison was not assigned to Vietnam due to the fact that he contracting malaria while in Korea. Instead of being sent into Vietnam, Morrison was assigned to the White House Motor Pool for the next six years.
Former President Richard M. Nixon presented this photograph inscribed by John Morrison upon his retirement in 1971. Photo: John Morrison]
Morrison worked as the Transportation Sergeant in the White House from July 1965 until his retirement in the year 1971. For the next 6 years, Morrison drove family members of both Johnson and Nixon. Johnson and Nixon. He traveled in Camp David with those families along with a host of other dignitaries and generals. Each President Johnson and Nixon were present. Nixon handed over autographed photographs of their respective families to Sergeant. John Morrison, thanking him for his services.
After retiring, Morrison moved to Dale City, Virginia, and became an agent in The Washington Post. He purchased newspapers from the newspaper and resold them back to delivery drivers.
In the following eighteen years, he relocated into Florala, Alabama, in 1979.
Plaque was presented the plaque to John Morrison by the White House after his retirement in the year 1971. Photo: John Morrison]
John Morrison still felt a desire to be a part of the community, and began working for Shriner’s Hospitals in 1982. As volunteer driver, he took patient who were in Montgomery, Alabama, to Shriner’s Hospitals in Chicago, Cincinnati and Greenville, S. C. He worked for eight years as a volunteer, and did not receive a salary. Even paid fuel for the van that he drove. The Shriner’s patients have to pay for any service.
There is no official record of the total amount of trips made by Morrison however, he was awarded the plaque (which is shownin the photo] for taking twenty-five trips from Cincinnati on his own. Morrison was typically traveling with the wife of his, Vivianne, and occasionally her sister, Navis Spring.
Of the countless children Morrison drove into Shriner’s Hospitals, Morrison still recalls two children who were unique. One boy was suffering massive burns across the majority parts of his body. In The hospital located in Cincinnati where he was treated, he received a procedure which replaced his skin with the skin that was developed in the labs of the hospital. When he returned to collect his child John couldn’t believe his eyes at the amazing miracle that had taken place.
The other patient Morrison kept in mind was a four-month-old baby. The infant suffered from a severe cleft palate, which extended across the sides of the face, even reaching the ear. After a couple of months, Morrison was tasked with bringing the baby to his home. When he got to the hospital John was on the floor and went to collect the infant. He recalled walking by a nurse with the baby, but didn’t realize it was the baby he brought. The transformation was astonishing. The incisions of the operation were on the inside, while the external incisions were joined. Morrison said that this was a second amazing feat by Shriners as well as God.
John stopped driving for Shriner’s Hospitals around 1990 due to the declining condition of his wife. She died in December of 2009. Her sister, Navis Spring, had lost her husband, and had been supporting Vivianne along with John for a long time. John began losing sight and required a person to take care of him at home as well as transport him to doctor’s appointments. Navis was John’s secretary and chauffeur for a number of years following her sister’s passing. Vivianne was keen for Navis to get married John following her death, so that John would be cared for. John along with Navis were married in August of 2019. Due to Covid-19, Navis could not change her name at the moment of the wedding.
John Vick
The author is fortunate to be able to tell John Morrison’s tale. It’s rare that an individual’s service in the military is compared to his service to his fellow soldiers after he retired. I am grateful to John and his wife, Navis as well as his son Kenneth who allowed me to share his story. John Morrison may be blind however he can still see using his eyes.
The article John A. Morrison Sergeant U.S. Army, Korean War From Korea to the White House Motor Pool – Part 2. appeared in The Andalusia Star-News.
