A First for SJMS: Pride boils over with Dockery’s Medal of Honor Announcement
By Tim Unruh
Two old soldiers who helped shape the early days of a United States war hero, beamed with deep admiration Friday morning at a coffee klatch in downtown Salina.
They were among some 24 at the regular Friday morning Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 809 gathering in The Temple basement.
One of them, Tony Blair, of Salina, halted the typical loud chatter with a special announcement.
Nicholas Dockery, 41, a 2003 graduate of the former St. John’s Military School in north Salina, is in line to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving a fellow soldier in 2012 while fighting in Afghanistan. He also was wounded and received a Purple Heart, Blair told the group (see the story below).
“I’m very proud,” said Doug Randolph, VVA chapter president who taught 35 years at St. John’s, primarily as a history instructor. Blair was a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor and rifle team coach.
“(Dockery) was an all-around great kid and a great student. He was on the battalion staff as a senior, as the executive officer,” Randolph said.
The news came nearly seven years after the school closed, following its 131st graduation in May 2019.
When the formality comes to fruition by a presidential decree, Dockery will become the first Medal of Honor recipient to graduate from St. John’s, and the only current living officer to be awarded the military’s highest honor, according to George Stelljes, retired SJMS commandant. He was a Junior ROTC instructor during Dockery’s time on the North Salina campus.
“This is a very rare event. The Medal of Honor is the highest medal you can get while serving in the military,” said Stelljes, who today lives in Westport, MA, near Boston.
The history-rich institution still commemorates the achievements of SJMS students in St. John’s Military School Historical Museum in Linger Hall on the west end of the former campus. The rest of the complex is now part of Saint Francis Ministries.
An SJMS dress uniform that belonged to Dockery, is on display at the museum, said Manager Kent Tretheway, of Manhattan, a member of the SJMS Class of 1971.
Dockery is working for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, but plans to retire May 8, according to a Dockery Foundation spokesman.
has been nominated and approved for the Medal of Honor, Tretheway said it’s just a matter of time before he’s presented as such by the U.S. President, likely in the East Room of the White House.
St. John’s Old Boys — the nickname bestowed upon the school’s graduates — have commented heavily on the SJMS Facebook page. Some have suggested chartering a bus to attend the ceremony, when and if it’s confirmed.
“We’re considering it a done deal. We’re all pretty fired up about it,” Tretheway said.
Same goes for the faculty.
“It makes me feel real proud. It’s super impressive. St. John’s didn’t have a stellar reputation, because you always heard about the bad things. You didn’t hear about really good things like this,” said Randolph, 75.
The retired U.S. Marine served one tour in Vietnam and received a Purple Heart after suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Randolph is currently an adjunct business professor at Bethany College in Lindsborg. Blair served 23 years in the Army in several spots around the globe, including Germany and Hawaii.
“This just confirms what all of us always knew about St. John’s Military School, and the students who went through there. A lot of them came here as boys and left as men,” said Blair, 68. “It makes you very proud to be part of that boy’s growing up. So many men from St. John’s have gone on to fantastic things. (Dockery) just happens to be one of them.”
Medal of Honor recipients are paid profound respect, said Stelljes, 73, who served 20 years in the Army.
“It is THE medal. You have to put yourself at great risk to earn it,” he said.
“People in the military salute the Medal of Honor (recipients). Generals salute them first. That’s the high regard that is placed on that medal. If you have anything to do with the military and know somebody who earned that medal, you’re extremely proud of that person.”
While St. John’s has long since closed down, Dockery has risen high on the list of graduates and is remembered for achieving high marks at SJMS, New Mexico Military Institute, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as a soldier and officer, and a Yale University graduate student.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Randolph said. “He done good.”
FACTOID: Requests to reach Nicholas Dockery were referred to the U.S. Special Operations Command at McDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL. Calls were not returned.
FACTOID: Nicholas Dockery has formed a nonprofit foundation to improve access to proven “alternative therapies,” such as equine-assisted and art therapy to help people deal with trauma and PTSD. To learn more about NDF, visit dockeryfoundation.org.