FHS Alumni News

    During the month of October, the 38th Lights for Peace flag flew at the Fort Taber - Fort Rodman Military Museum honoring the memory of Lt. General John “Skip” B. Hall, Jr., a highly decorated fighter pilot and commander, who served in the United States Air Force for 32 years.
    During his distinguished career, he flew more than 3700 hours, including 990 combat hours and 435 combat missions during the Vietnam War. Hall was proficient in flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-14 Tomcat and F-4 Phantom II.
   John, also known as “Skip,” was born on Aug. 9, 1944 and grew up in Mattapoisett. He was a tremendous athlete, becoming a star basketball player for Fairhaven High School, where he and his teammates earned a trip to the Tech Tourney. Hall was eventually inducted into the Fairhaven High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
    Hall graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1967. He joined the United States Air Force in March of that year and began his pilot training at Reese Air Force Base in Texas, earning the rank of 2LT. This would be the beginning of a long and distinguished military career serving both stateside and abroad. Over the years, he became a fighter pilot, served as commander of an F-4 Phantom II unit, during two of his three tours in Vietnam, and went on to serve as commander in numerous companies. His career culminated with the command of the U.S Forces in Japan at the end of his career.
    His son, Adam Hall, recalled that his dad “lived a life of focus, characterized with accomplishments of similar great men, but Dad had no desire to tell others of his greatness. Succeeding at everything, missing nothing, his evolution from child to pilot, leader and patriarch was marked by devotion to every obstacle he faced.” He went on to explain that his father “excelled at everything, feared nothing, and welcomed every obstacle like it didn’t stand a chance. He led a life of service to his country and his family, selflessly saving nothing for himself.”