John Holman Raven

   FamilySearch ID: G41Z-GLL.

  Events

• Graduation: Gallup High School, Jun 1988, Gallup, NM.

• Obituary: Bangor Daily News, 19 May 1990, Bangor, ME.
ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES -- Airman John Holman Raven, 19, of Delta Junction, Alaska, formerly of Weeks Mills, Maine, was killed by gunman, May 13, 1990, outside of Clark AFB.
He was born in Augusta, Aug. 11, 1970, the son of Dennis Allen and Lucille Ruth (Hemingway) Raven. He attended China Elementary School and moved with his family from Weeks Mills to New Mexico in 1978, where he lived for 13 years, doing indian mission work with his family. Following his graduation from Gallup (N.M.) High School in 1988, he entered the U.S. Air Force. Airman Raven received his basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas, and continued with technical school in Denver, Colo. He had been stationed at Kunsan AFB, South Korea. His flight wing of 280 airman and support personnel were recently assigned temporary duty in the Philippines. In addition to his parents of Delta Junction, Alaska, he is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Douglas (Tina) Oliver of Mapleton, Maine, Mrs. Timothy (Tracy) Francis of Gallup, N.M., and Tamie Raven of Delta Junction, Alaska; his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Edwin (Blossom) Monroe of Whitefield, Maine; his paternal grandfather, Burleigh E. Raven of Freedom, Maine; his maternal grandmother, Doris Davis of Boston; three nephews, several aunts, uncles and cousins. Friends may call 7-9 p.m. Sunday at Gray & Pratt Funeral Home, Windsor Neck Road, Windsor. A funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Monday at the Church of God, Route 3, Augusta. Burial will be in Chadwick Hill Cemetery, South China. Memorial donations to the Chapel Building Fund, Box 1086, Delta Junction, Alaska 99737.

• Newspaper Article: Bangor Daily News, 21 May 1990, Bangor, ME.
Maine native killed by rebels 'knew risks'
The mother of a Maine man killed outside Clark Air Force Base in the Philipines a week ago said that her son was a well-liked person who savored life.
"He never said an unkind word about anybody," Lucille Raven of Delta Junction, Alaska, the mother of murdered Airman John H. Raven, said during a telephone interview from a relative's home in Whitefield.
Raven, 19, was shot and killed by communist rebels May 13 as he and a friend left a hotel in Angeles city, about 50 miles north of Manila. A native of Augusta, Raven attended China Elementary School and lived in Weeks Mills before moving with his family to New Mexico in 1978. Raven has many surviving relatives in Maine, said Mrs. Raven, who is also a native of the state.
The young airman enjoyed the Air Force, Mrs. Raven said, and liked electronics, reading, pottery and fishing. Mrs. Raven said her son apparently was unsure whether he planned to make a career of the military, which he entered after his graduation from Gallup (N.M.) High School in 1988.
Mrs. Raven said she does not believe that her son and fellow airman could have been better guarded, and she and Raven both realized that the American servicemen abroad recently have been targets of assassins who oppose U.S. military involvement.
"He knew the risks and dangers of being in the service," Mrs. Raven said.
Raven was on temporary duty in the Philippines from the 8th Aircraft Generation Squadron in Kunsan, South Korea, when he was gunned down along with Airman James C. Green by three youths believed to be members of the Communist New People's Army. Officials believe that the band of guerillas -- which had threatened the lives of American servicemen recently and has waged a 21-year insurgency against the Philippine government -- has been responsible for the deaths of nine Americans since 1987 who were associated with the military.
The NPA opposes the presence of the U.S. military in the Philippines, and the shootings came a day before negotiations over the future of U.S. military installations there.
A funeral service for Raven will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at the Church of God, Route 3, Augusta. Burial will be in Chadwick Hill Cemetery, South China. Memorial donations may be sent to the Chapel Building Fund, Box 1086, Delta Junction, Alaska, 99737.