As a young boy, I was struck by the patriotic fervor of my uncles (4) and father who served in the Army, Army Air Corps , & Merchant Marine during WWII . Later my 2 other uncles served in the Army & Navy. There never was any question in their minds about their duty toward their country as immigrants who happened to be Arab American. They inspired me to join the NROTC Unit at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA where I majored in psychology and received a scholarship for 4 years .

John is the eldest son of Mohammed Omar who had immigrated to America in 1913 from a village outside of Tripoli, Lebanon. After graduating in 1943 with honors from Quincy High School in Quincy Massachusetts, John Omar, at eighteen years old, enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

He became the Flight Engineer and top turret gunner for a B-24 Liberator dubbed by the crew "She's Our Gal" and was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 382nd Bomb Squadron, 491st Bomb Group that was stationed in Pickingham Air Field in Norfolk, England.

Our communities are in danger now more than ever from what I call pathetic domestic enemies–hate & discrimination.· How do we combat these enemies?· We fight it by using our uniform and our distinguished service in the United States A rmed Forces as the catalyst and the bridge to our fellow A mericans’ awareness of hate & discrimination.· By educating our fellow A mericans of our A rab culture and religion, A merica ’s sense of justice, compassion and resolve will overshadow casual thoughts of stereotyping that have become imbedded in the subliminal psyche, presumptive racial profiling, and (implied race superiority by non- A rab/Muslims) in certain segments of our society.· Why does a small percentage of our fellow military service-members still subscribe to hate & discrimination?· Why do some of our leaders in our government do the same?· Is it because they are a reflection of their communities?· The late President Ronald Reagan once said - " A state is nothing more than a reflection of its citizens; the more decent the citizens, the more decent the state”.