Military Career of
John Stanley 'Stas' Konoza
PERSONAL DATA (taken from transfer/discharge report of 30 September, 1961)
Service Number:  01 315 696
Rank, Grade:  Major, Officer-4
Specialty Number and Title:  31542 - Special Forces Officer
[his 3 disciplines were Intelligence, Medical and Demolitions]
Date of Rank: 16 February, 1961
Department, Branch, Class: Army, US Army Reserves, Infantry
Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue Height: 5'11" Weight: 170
Highest Civilian Educational Level: High School - 4 years [put himself through private school]
ADDITIONAL PERSONAL DATA
Languages Spoken:  English, Polish, Russian, Czechoslovakian
ASSIGNMENTS/TRANSFERS/RANK (mostly from dental records)
1940? thru 1941 - Infantry - Private
1941 - Ft. Meade, MD, 1302nd Special Services Unit, Company D  - promoted to Corporal
1941 thru 1943 - fought in WWII - promoted to Sergeant
1943 - Camp Anza, California, Headquarters  - 2nd Lieutenant (field promotion during war)
1946 - Camp Plauche - Master Sergeant (many post war officers that stayed-in were decommisioned to fill vacancies created in the lower ranks)
April 1946 - Camp Shelby, Mississippi - Master Sergeant/Officer Candidate
1946 thru 1947? - Camp Stoneman, California - Battery Company A, 60 FA - Master Sergeant
1948 - Fort Eustis, VA, 5th Stud
1948? thru 1950 - Instructor of Russian at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA - promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in 1949? (after serving 9 years and 5 months as enlisted personnel) [possibly served 2 months in Reserves during this assignment]
27 September 1950 - Ordered from US Army Reserves (re-activated) as 1st Lieutenant
1951 - Headquarters Company 7th Infantry Division
1951?-1953? - fought in Korean War
1953? thru 1954 - Ft. Benning, GA 4th Company, The School Brigade  - promoted to Captain
August 1954 - Ft. Bragg, NC, Headquarters and Hq. Company 77 Special Forces
1954? thru 1957 - 3 years and 11 months foreign service at Flint Kaserne in Bad Tolz, Germany with 10th Special Forces Group
1957 thru 1961 - 77th Special Forces Group (became part of 7th SFG in June 1960), Special Operations Command - Fort Bragg, NC - promoted to Major prior to retirement
1961 thru 1976? - US Army Control Group Retired Reserve/CIA (with foreign service in Thailand and Vietnam teaching counter Guerilla tactics from 1965 to 1972?)
DISCHARGE INFORMATION
30 September 1961 - Honorable: after 20 years, 3 months of active service [retirement]
DECORATIONS, MEDALS, BADGES, COMMENDATIONS, CITATIONS AND CAMPAIGN RIBBONS
Master Parachutist Badge
Korean Presidential Unit Citation
Bronze Star Medal
Korean Service Medal w/ 3 Service Stars
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
National Defense Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
The Army Commendation Medal
WOUNDS RECEIVED AS A RESULT OF ACTION WITH ENEMY FORCES
None, but he did have a scar on one arm and on his chin per his Medical Record
MEDICAL RECORD
Allergies - sensitive to Horse serum
Tonsillectomy - 1943 at age 21
Full dentures - 1946 at age 24
Chronic sinusitis - 1949 at age 27 (had sinus surgery)
Light Duty - 1959 convalescing from minor surgery

Notes from 1956 hospitalization for Sinusitis:
Medications - aspirin and codeine
"Pt. drinks 8-10 cups of coffee a day and smokes 40 cigarettes" [fast forward 40+ years--they give me a hard time during my annual Fire Department physical, because I drink 3 cups of coffee a day!]
Lieutenant John S. Konoza (left) unwinds with a couple of his Army buddies (middle and right) -- circa 1943 or1950
Special Forces Association
Captain John S. Konoza in front of the Command Post at Camp Williams, Utah (January 1960) - getting ready to smoke a pack of Marlboros (he was a 3 pack a day smoker for most of his life and would later die of emphysema); he was known to his friends and siblings as Stanley or  "Stas" (pronounced STAH-SH), he chose a career in the military rather than continuing in the family business of being a weaver;  he was promoted to Major in the US Army Special Forces on February 16, 1961and retired on September 30, 1961; he then went to work for the CIA as an agent; he served his country in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
SERVICE SCHOOLS AND MAJOR COURSES
1940? - Basic Training (he was one of two people from his boot camp to later go on to OCS)

1946? - Camp Shelby, Mississippi - Officer's Candidate School?

1948 - Fort Eustis, Kentucky - Transportation School

April thru May 1951 - The Infantry School - AICOC #5 [Airborne Intercept Command Officers Course?--just a guess through Internet searches for military acronyms]

March 1953 thru February 1954 - US Army Language School - Czechoslovakian

September 1954 thru January 1955 - The Infantry School - AIOA #2 [Army Intelligence Officer's, etc.?--(Special Forces?)--really guessing hard on this acronym]

30 September 1956 thru 28 March 1957 - USAREUR [US Army  - Europe] Intelligence & Military Police School - Special Intelligence Course

16 January 1961 thru 10 March 1961 - USA Special Warfare School - Counter Guerilla Course

Other Training Completed:
Basic Airborne Training
Jumpmaster Course
Air Transportation Course
LINKS
Taps for Major John S. Konoza (ret.)
National Archives and Records Administration/National Personnel Records Center
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