Background
Raised on a farm near Corunna, Michigan. The family farmed about 1200 acres, growing corn, white winter wheat, oats, alfalfa, rye, barley, navy beans, and once-grown buckwheat. The family raised cattle, dairy cows, chickens, sheep, pigs, and goats - not at all the same time. The family was one of the first in the area in 1965 to buy a four-wheel drive 1950 Oliver Detroit Diesel tractor that pulled an 8-bottom plow.
Drafted into the U.S. Army in August 1967, John was trained in using many firearms, bayonet training, and hand-to-hand combat at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He trained on helicopters at Fort Eustis, Virginia. His extensive Military Occupational Speciality (MOS) training was on the Bell UH-1 (MOS 67N20) and the Hughes OH-6A (MOS 67V20) helicopters. Brunger received a meritorious promotion to Specialist 5 (E-5) in 6 months.
Brunger served in the Republic of Vietnam with the 1st Aviation Brigade in 1968 as an OH-6A helicopter crew chief (MOS 67V20) and received many military awards and citations; his awards include the Combat Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Airman Crew Badge, and the US Army Sharpshooter Badge for the M-16 rifle. He spent a fortnight in October of 1968 in a Vietnam field hospital, after which he was sent back out to the field. He remembered the horrible experience for the rest of his life. He returned from Vietnam after 1 year on May 6, 1969, and served at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, for 12 months, with run-up orders on the Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter, an American single-engine helicopter, training Vietnamese pilots.
John's primary field of study involved U.S. government, world geography, history, and computers. He was awarded an internship under Governor Jimmy Carter's intern program in 1974, researching Nuclear Power Safety. He worked in the government for about 3 years.
Published by LA Times, Atlanta Constitution, Savannah Morning News, Owosso Argus-Press, Dallas Morning News, and Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Was a licensed real estate agent, insurance agent, and Registrar of Voters.
Owned a battery business for several years and was self-employed.
Nineteen years of service with a school district in Texas teaching government, geography, world history, U.S. history, and economics.
