John Nickolas "Rip" Fliszar

First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps

John Nickolas Fliszar was born in Chicago, IL, in 1948. He was in the NROTC unit at the University of Illinois, working on majors in both History and Foreign Affairs, when he received his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Known as "Rip" to his friends, at the Academy he excelled in football, playing for Navy for four years, including two notable defeats over Army in 1967 and 1970. However, his greatest love was fencing and, according to the 1971 Lucky Bag "any and every afternoon he could be found in the fencing loft rattling his sabre." He graduated from the Academy with the Class of 1971 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

"Rip/slash" became the basis of his nickname, further influenced by "ripcord" while he was training as a Marine Aviator at Pensacola. When asked to choose his flight call name, he nostalgically decided upon "Ripper." He was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, where he endeared himself by grilling American-style steak dinners for locals and treasured a pet Akita named after his former fencing coach at USNA.

His last duty station was at Marine Barracks Cecil Field in Jacksonville, FL. As difficulties with his gait caused by a wounded ankle increased, as they would throughout his life, John realized the time would come when he would not be able to pass physical standards, and he left the Corps in 1978 as a First Lieutenant. The loss of his military career left a wound that never entirely healed.

After leaving the Marine Corps, John worked in hardware management in Chicago, IN, and Florida. His passion however was horticulture, and after earning his Master Gardener certification, he ran his own landscaping company; John Fliszar and Associates Nursery and Landscaping, in Orlando for many years.

First Lieutenant John Nickolas Fliszar died of natural causes on 17 July 2010, at home in Chicago, IL. He was 61 years old.