Into the Fire: A Season of Navy Football, Fortitude and Faith
Fall Saturday afternoons have been synonymous with college football for John Owen ever since he started attending UCLA games with his dad, a UCLA football alum. A four-year high school player, John's playing days came to an end with graduation, but his love for college football didn't.When, in 2007, he was able to walk onto the field for the first time as Chaplain for the Naval Academy football team, it was every bit as exciting and exhilarating as he thought it would be. His season as Navy's team chaplain reminded him of what is best about college football, and how fortunate America is to have such remarkable young men and women willing to take on roles of responsibility in uniformed service.A native of Pasadena, California, John graduated from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington with a degree in English. After nearly ten years as a helicopter pilot in the U. S. Coast Guard, he entered seminary and received his MDiv degree. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and served a church in Port Angeles, Washington. He returned to active duty as a Navy chaplain in 1998. He has served with a U. S. Marine Air Group, two Navy ships, a Navy Medical Center, and the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He has deployed to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and to Indonesia in response to the 2004 tsunami. He and his wife have two daughters. For the Owen family, "home" is where the Navy sends them. Currently, that is Annapolis, Maryland, and they love it there. Eventually, however, they hope to settle in the Pacific Northwest, close to both sets of grandparents. Additionally, the family loves camping on their property in the mountains of western Montana.