John Winchester

Played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

• Widower of Mary Winchester; father of Dean & Sam
• John served in the Vietnam war with the US Marines (see below).
• He worked as a mechanic and was co-owner (with Mike Guenther) of a garage in Lawrence, Kansas until the death of his wife in 1983.
• A draft script of the Pilot places John's age at 30 when Mary dies (therefore early 50s at present).

John's Military History (& age speculation)

The following information was researched and collated by ezgal.

Note: some info gleaned from Wikipedia. Click on thumbnail to enlarge image.

• USMC Expert Rifle Badge (+ 55 kills, with either a .50 Cal or a M4 Sniper Rifle)
• One-Round War : USMC Scout-Snipers in Vietnam
• Bronze Star (fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service)
• Purple Heart (wounded)
• Vietnam Service Medal (served more than thirty consecutive days, or 60 non-consecutive days, in the Republic of Vietnam between the dates of November 15, 1961 and March 28, 1973.)

If you estimate John's age at 30 in 1983 (which is pretty conservative, since he doesn't look like a man in his mid-fifties in Journey Home,) then he turned 18 1971-ish. (Although you can join up with your parents' consent when you turn 17, which he may have done, judging by how proud he is of his involvement in the USMC.)

These are all the official military campaigns for the Marines in Vietnam from 1970-73:

• Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 : November 1, 1969 to April 30, 1970
• Sanctuary Counteroffensive : May 1 to June 30, 1970
• Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VII : July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1971
• Consolidation I : July 1 to November 30, 1971
• Consolidation II : December 1, 1971 to March 29, 1972
• Vietnam Cease Fire : March 30, 1972 to March 28, 1973

Although the Marines were in Vietnam until the end of the war (assisting in the evacuation of US embassies, for example,) ground force reduction begins in July of 71.

USMC units in Vietnam

Random Nam facts

• only 25% of the total forces in country were draftees
• 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost because of lack of political will
• 91% of actual Vietnam War veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy combat are proud to have served their country