Tough Ruck Nation is deeply saddened to share that Staff Sergeant John F. Santos of New Bedford, MA tragically passed away on December 28, 2022 after succumbing to a brain aneurysm.
John served overseas in Qatar in 2019 where he obtained his Veteran Status. He was recently promoted to Staff Sergeant in 2021 in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. He was incredibly passionate about his career in the military and gained brothers in arms along the way. John was also a Correctional Officer at Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department for 5 years and was awaiting the Massachusetts State Police Academy in 2023. He participated in Tough Ruck Boston and completed the marathon twice with his fellow Airmen as part of Team 102nd SFS. He also enjoyed riding his Harley, fishing and being the fun Uncle Johnny. John was a loyal and dedicated fiancé, son, brother and soon to be Father of Hayden Santos. Tough Ruck's official charity - Military Friends Foundation - is providing a grant to pay for the funeral expenses. "We are extremely grateful for the support of Tough Ruck and Military Friends Foundation during the difficult time. It means a great deal to his family, his military brothers and sisters and Defenders of the 102nd Security Forces Squadron," said 1Sgt Morgan Marconi.
John will be laid to rest Monday, January 6th and we encourage all to take part in a virtual "Tough Ruck Memorial March" as a final salute to the Warrior. Join as we honor this Hero taken far too soon.
To join the Virtual Tough Ruck Memorial March:
1) Download a bib for John below and print to wear on your Ruck
2) Ruck any distance
3) Share photos from your ruck to share with the Santos family using the hashtags: #toughruck #toughruckmemorialruck or email your photos to info@toughruck.org.
The official GoFundMe pages to support the family and John's unborn son are listed below:
https://gofund.me/585ef3bb (organized by the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department) and https://gofund.me/550d2452 (organized by 102 Defenders).
