John Wilson was born in 1943 in Jackson, Alabama to John and Nell Wilson. He attended Huntington College, a Methodist college, as a pre-theological student and while there he met his future wife, Janie Cowan, and married before his last semester. He left school and became the athletic director at the Montgomery YMCA. Janie was also a teacher and John was able to return to school while working part time. Although he planned to enter Emory School of Theology in Atlanta, his name was on the draft board list so he signed up on the college option and was inducted into the army, October 3, 1966 at Fort Jackson. Sent to Germany, John was a 1^st Lieutenant in the 1^st of the 36^th Infantry in Frankfort. He remained in Germany from 1967 to 1969 before deploying to Vietnam. John was initially the S2 of the battalion and later became commander of Company A, 4^th Battalion 31^st Regiment, 196^th Light Infantry Brigade. When he returned to the states in 1970, John was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. After discharge he and his wife moved back to Alabama and he began teaching Special Ed at Carver Junior High School in Montgomery, later serving as a school principal for 25 years. After retiring from the school system John became the pastor of a Methodist church.