Tribune Chronicle / Guy Vogrin In his family room, John T. Caparanis stands amid the memorabilia from his almost three-decade military career. Caparanis, who lives on Heather Lane in Cortland, served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Vietnam in the late 1960s and then moved onto the Army Reserves where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, serving stateside during the Desert Storm era.

CORTLAND — John T. Caparanis’ life has centered around sports and the military for the past 73 years.

The Cortland resident credits his late father, a U.S. Army veteran, who also was named John.

“My dad was a heck of a ballplayer in the Giants minor league system, but then World War II broke out,” said Caparanis who later followed in his dad’s footsteps into the Army.

The father, a Silver Star recipient who after the war played baseball in the sandlots of Yorkville, regaled his growing son with stories of baseball and the military.

“I didn’t have a choice,” said the younger Caparanis, who was to make his mark as the radio voice of Trumbull County high school football and basketball for more than three decades.

He first went to Ohio University in 1963 after graduating from Warren G. Harding High School.

“I majored in radio and television broadcasting and English, and I also joined the ROTC program,” Caparanis said.

In college, Caparanis was tutored by legendary Cleveland Cavaliers announcer Joe Tait, but he also had a desire to work for Armed Forces Radio.

“I received my Army commission in 1968 and got orders to report to Fort Gordon, Ga. I became a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps,” he said.

After basic training, Caparanis said he was to report to active duty in a place near the New Jersey / Pennsylvania border about six hours away from Warren.

“I thought this was going to be a great assignment. I was going to help film some of the anti-Vietnam War riots going on in the area at the time. I figured I was going to use some of my radio-TV skills.”

Before reporting for duty, however, Caparanis said his orders changed.

“They sent me in the opposite direction, to the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. It is a place where they test chemical and biological weapons. I thought to myself, ‘Wow. What are they doing? Chemistry is probably my worst subject,’ ” Caparanis said.

It turned out the Utah post had the top audio-video equipment around, which Caparanis said was really a modified television station.

“I was ordered to give classes in this top secret weapons orientation course. We taught people in the FBI and CIA and military personnel from the NATO nations,” he said.

Caparanis said he enjoyed his time in Utah, in which he set up housekeeping with his newlywed wife, Shirley, whom he married in 1967. His stay in Utah wasn’t as long as Caparanis wanted, as he was shipped in 1969 to the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.

“I was dispatched to Nha Trang in the South China Sea area to become an communication evaluator,” he said. “Our team was a group of experts in telephone, radio and computer. We would travel to all the Central Highlands bases to take care of communication problems.”

One day, Caparanis forgot his flak jacket and received a “dressing down” by a lieutenant colonel.

“I can still see that man — his name was Greminger — who said they were just rocketed the night before,’ he said. “He took me through the mess hall where all the china was shattered. But there was this one coffee cup that had remained intact. I looked at the bottom and it said it was made at Shenango Ceramics in New Castle, Pa.”

Caparanis said his brother-in-law was the manager of that ceramics plant.

“I often joked with him that he should have made a commercial featuring that coffee cup that survived a Viet Cong rocket attack,” Caparanis laughed.

Even though his life was never in immediate danger, Caparanis said he had to stay on his toes while in Vietnam.

“There were some hairy situations. It wasn’t enjoyable, but it was a learning experience,” he said ” I know it wasn’t enjoyable for my wife back home who was at the time carrying our second child.”

While he was still in Vietnam, the Army brass tried to convince Caparanis to re-enlist for three more years.

“However, I stuck to my guns and said that I would give them three more years if they would let me join Armed Forces radio. They told me that wouldn’t happen because there wasn’t an opening there for two-and-a-half more years. So I left Vietnam and joined the Army Reserves in 1971.”

He was assigned to the 660th Transportation Co. in Cadiz, where he was promoted to Captain. He then transferred to the 1036th Army Reserve School of Farrell, Pa., where he again taught about chemical and biological warfare.

Caparanis stayed in the Reserves for a quarter of a century, rising to a rank of Lieutenant Colonel while with the 2077th out of Cleveland. During this time, his broadcasting career flourished in civilian life.

“I became the first football announcer when Jim Tressel began coaching YSU in the 1980s,” said Caparanis, who also excelled in cable television sports broadcasting and starred in his own sports talk show called “Tip of the Cap.”

On Jan. 21, 1991, Caparanis said he returned to active duty to serve in Desert Storm.

“I remember it well. I was broadcasting a YSU-Akron basketball game, and they called me to center court to shower me with all kinds of presents,” he said.

Though he didn’t serve overseas during that first Iraqi War, he said he was shipped to Fort Gordon, Ga., again to teach about chemical and biological weapons.

“There was a lot of rumors at the time about what Saddam (Hussein) was going to use,” he said.

Caparanis ended his military service when he left the Reserves in 1995, but his broadcast career continues. He still lives in the Heather Lane home he moved into with Shirley in 1974. His three children, Lexie Crenshaw, Deidre Abbitt and Joshua Caparanis, have moved to Columbus and have given the couple five grandchildren — Chance, Tomea, Pierce, Bryson and Ashdon.

“My oldest grandchild is in Homeland Security and probably will be connected to the military in some way,” he said, noting that four of the five are active in sports. “The youngest one probably will be, too, because he has a bundle of energy.”

Caparanis said he really enjoyed his military service, especially the time spent in Utah.

“I have met a lot of outstanding individuals, visited a lot of different places. I am proud of my service,” he said. “It has absolutely opened doors for me.”