Every year, the Herald profiles local veterans in honor of Veterans’ Day.
LOWER TOWNSHIP – For John Saltzman, who joined the Marine Corps shortly after his graduation from Lower Cape May Regional High School in 1999, the military provided “the building blocks for a young man” along with a “different level of discipline” that helped him appreciate family, friends and loved ones while he was away from home.
Through five years of service, he also learned the skills he would need for his civilian life, as he is one of a small number of fish spotters on the East Coast who look for bunker (a local name for Atlantic menhaden), a small, schooling forage fish that is vital for commercial fishing boats.
“Everything I did in the Marines, crew chief, mechanic and door gunner, was the perfect job for me,” Saltzman said, “and the skills and discipline helped me out being away from home. It helped me to really appreciate my family, and I’m a big supporter of the military and its structure.”
Saltzman was among the first U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
“We were docked in Darwin, Australia, on Sept. 11 and when we got back to the ship, we were headed to a country most of us had never heard of, Afghanistan,” he recalled. “We were the first assault unit there as the president only wanted 1,000 troops in country at the time. We took over an airfield and stayed six weeks. We came home for a few months, before heading out to Iraq, where I served another nine months.”
Saltzman was a door gunner in the Marines and flew 42 combat missions in Afghanistan and 120 in Iraq, earning campaign medals and two air medals for meritorous achievement during aerial combat.
“We were proud to be among the first to be in Afghanistan,” he said. “It seemed like everyone at that time took a step back and was so patriotic. We were going after the people who had attacked us. We didn’t realize what the world was going to be going through in the future.”
Coming home from his military service was a different experience than the experiences of those who served during Vietnam. “We joined during peacetime, so we had a very different experience coming home,” he said. “If you were sent to Vietnam, people were questioning why. I joined during peacetime, and then 9/11 happened. There was a lot of pride, and we were welcomed back by our families, friends and community. It was a very emotional time.”
He used the G.I. Bill to earn an aircraft mechanic license, skills he uses today to maintain his own plane, as he is a full-time spotter for Lund’s Fisheries and also will spot for others from time to time.
“When I came back from serving, I took one trip on a commercial scallop boat and never looked back,” he said. “Then, the fish spotter for Lund’s retired, and I got my pilot’s license and am now a fish spotter full time. It’s mostly a seasonal job in the fall and early spring as we look for menhaden.”
His wife became pregnant while he was home between tours, and he joked that he got home “just in time to catch the baby.” He and wife Melissa eventually had a second child, and his family takes pride in helping veterans in the community.
Saltzman serves as quartermaster of the Cape May VFW Post 386, and he’s extremely proud of the scholarship fundraising the VFW does. He takes pride in “paying it forward” as he, his wife and daughter helped with the recent annual clambake that benefits the VFW’s scholarship fund.
He and his wife also are active with CVAC, the Citizens /Veterans Advisory Committee created to help veterans and their families identify available resources to help with challenges they often face when they return from service. He recently helped a fellow veteran, who was homeless, find a place to live and a job.
“The military was a unique opportunity for me as a young man, giving me the building blocks I would need later in life,” Saltzman said. “The different level of discipline it provided helped me out, especially being away from home so young. It really made me appreciate my family. I’m a big supporter of the military and its structure, and the military became part of my extended family. It was truly something special.”
Contact the reporter, Karen Knight, at kknight@cmcherald.com.
