John J. Dwyer -- The Legacy of Waddy Young

 

John J. Dwyer is a distinguished historian, author, and professor. He is a six-time winner of the national, Fort Worth-based Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western literature. He taught history and ethics at Southern Nazarene University from 2006-2021.

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John grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from OU in 1978 with a degree in journalism. He developed his journalistic skills in radio as a play‐by‐play football and basketball announcer. He won the coveted position of sports director for the University of Oklahoma's KGOU‐FM radio station. For seven years, he provided live, on‐air reports to America's largest radio networks of Oklahoma Sooner college football games.

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John first learned about Waddy Young in 1986: "On a warm fall day in 1986, the halftime program of a University of Oklahoma football game included a ceremony involving a man whose name few in the packed stadium had ever heard. As his story was told, over 80,000 fans began to pay attention...by the end, which revealed the awe-inspiring feats surrounding Waddy’s Patriot martyrdom, you could have heard a pin drop."

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Since that day, John has become the keeper of Waddy's legacy through speeches, blogs, two novels, and one history book in which Waddy plays a central role. As the President of the Red River Institute of History in Waukomis, Oklahoma, John has dedicated himself to preserving the memory of Oklahomans who have inspired their country and the world. Through Dwyer's efforts, Walter Roland "Waddy" Young has become a member of that elite group.

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You can find out more about John at his website,  https://www.johnjdwyer.com