Jack C. Herron, Sr.

Jack C. Herron Sr. graduated from Connors in 1940 and received his Bachelor of Science degree in animal husbandry from Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University) in 1943 and there he later earned his master’s degree. While at Connors, Jack played on two outstanding basketball teams and was named the All-State Junior College Team in 1939-40. He also had a distinguished basketball career in Oklahoma A&M playing for Mr. Iba on the 1941-42 Missouri Valley Championship team. Twenty years later he served as assistant basketball coach at the University of Oklahoma. Herron volunteered for the Marine Corps while still enrolled in college. He entered boot camp directly out of college and then attended officer’s candidate school, receiving a commission as second lieutenant. Herron was eventually promoted to captain. He saw action in the South Pacific taking part in the invasion of Saipan. He also took part in the capture of the airfield that was later used to launch the Enola Gay which dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. Jack was shot in both legs during this battle and was awarded the Purple Heart. After returning home Herron served as county agent for Johnson County before being named assistant state 4-H club director. He fathered the idea of 4-H signs outside communities to welcome visitors. Herron was well respected throughout Oklahoma as a war hero, a good citizen, and an accomplished speaker. Jack went to Ethiopia after World War II to help establish a high school and junior college. The Herron family was later assigned to Eritrea to establish an extension service. He was employed by the Oklahoma State Vocational and Technical Department for twenty years where he established more than 100 Coordinated Vocational Educational Training Programs. He also served as Regional Administrator for Vocational Technical Educators in Oklahoma.