John Sodaro, a senior video producer with us, is the kind of guy you wish you could clone many times over.
Call me biased – John has been a colleague of mine for years – but it is a statement I stand by! John is not only an incredibly talented producer, but he is also a hardworking, humble man and loved by everyone he meets.
He also rarely talks about himself. But during a shoot in Florida last December, while the three of us were on break, I asked John about his career before the video. I was surprised to learn that he was both an NYPD officer in Brooklyn and a US Marine.
I was even more impressed when I learned that John is a third-generation military man. His grandfather was a B-17 tail gunner in World War II who was shot down and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war before returning home with two legs amputated. John’s uncle was a Marine in Vietnam who fought during the Tet Offensive, and John’s father earned a Bronze Star for valor as an airborne infantryman, also in Vietnam.
As a Marine, John deployed to Iraq twice, in 2006 and ’07.
After returning to civilian life, John landed a video production job Sports illustratedwhere I met him. Work – and golf – provided some much-needed rest.
“For me and many other veterans, golf was my therapy when I returned from Iraq,” John said. “It’s a chance to get away from it all. Sometimes that’s all a veteran can ask for: peace and camaraderie far removed from the battlefields.”
Earlier this year, John created and produced a moving video about American Dunes, a Jack Nicklaus design in Grand Haven, Michigan, that Folds of Honor founder and fighter pilot Lt. Col. Dan Rooney brought to fruition. At the entrance to the trail is the Folds of Honor Monument, which features photos and biographies of our country’s fallen heroes. All proceeds from the course will be donated to the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides scholarships to the families of fallen and disabled U.S. military personnel and first responders.
“I walked away from American Dunes humbled and grateful,” John said, “thinking of those who fought before me, those who fought alongside me, and those who fight for us now and in the future.”
From all of us at GOLF, thank you for your service, John. And Happy Veterans Day to all who have served and continue to serve our country.
Watch the Instagram video above to learn more about John’s story and his experience at American Dunes.
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