John Korn, who has become better known in Coast Guard circles as “Jake” Korn, was born and educated in Bloomfield, New Jersey. As a high school All-State soccer player he became interested in the Academy, visited, and was convinced that this would be the place for him. As a cadet soccer player, he began his career as a 4/c substitute player coming off the bench for the first couple of games. After that the coach got smarter, and he started every other game for the next four seasons, rarely coming off the field.
Soccer in the 70’s produced some great moments, winning records and good results from hard working cadets. However, in soccer, pure athleticism did not always translate into good soccer skills. By the time Jake became an upper classman, an opposing coach who was responsible for the all-region selections that are a precursor to the All-America process, told me: “Ray, you have always had some players who received honors within the region, but you now have your ‘first real soccer player’”. Jake went on to become a two-time All-New England selection in an era where there was no designation between the Division I, II and III players for regional recognition. Therefore, he was deemed to be one of the top 33 players in all of New England! He also was selected to play in the New England Intercollegiate Soccer League All-Star Game that had the best players from all divisions in the northeast come together for that contest.
Following graduation from the Academy Jake went on to flight school and was able to play on the All-Navy Team with another Hall of Famer who is with us this evening, Lee Romasco, and he has continued a life full of sports, fitness and wellness activities to complement his professional career in the Coast Guard.
His military career has been full of outstanding performances in a variety of assignments, including Chief, Inventory Management, Aircraft Repair and Supply Center; Commanding Officer of Air Station Corpus Christi and Air Station New Orleans; Commander, Sector Corpus Christi; Chief of Staff, 8th CG District; and his current assignment as a flag officer, Director, Coast Guard Acquisition Programs. His Awards are numerous, including the Legion of Merit, 5 Meritorious Service Medals, 2 Coast Guard Commendation Medals, 2 Achievement Medals, the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation, 2 National Defense Medals, 3 Meritorious Unit Commendations, 2 Humanitarian Service Medals, the DOT Award, 5 Team Awards, and Expert in Rifle & Pistol.
In conclusion, Jake states: “I’ve applied many lifelong lessons learned from sports participation to my personal development and I attribute my Coast Guard success in part to those lessons regarding teamwork, encouragement, friendships and sportsmanship. These skills transfer directly to leadership.”