Giovanni (John) Minerva. For the United States, the Korean War began on June 25, 1950, the month John Minervas class graduated from Lynbrook (NY) high school. John, however, had gone to work with his father and later completed his high school studies at Farmingdale (NY) State University. John and Jane, high school sweethearts, were married in Our Lady of Peace Catholic church in Lynbrook, in the spring of 1952. Anticipating a draft notice from Uncle Sam, John joined the U.S. Army as an infantryman that summer and began his training at Fort Dix NJ. Their first child, Jeanne was born in December. After the war, John raised his family on Long Island NY, working as a transportation executive in the beverage industry.