Rush Limbaugh’s passing poignant for Lewes resident John Fisher

The recent passing of popular conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh proved especially poignant for John Fisher of Lewes. The event took the mind of the retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel to a fresh and pleasant memory.

In late November, 2020, Fisher received a thin envelope in the mail with a return address of Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh Family Foundation. Inside were two pieces of paper – one, a short letter from the internationally renowned radio personality and his wife; the other, a check for $30,000.

“Dear John, 

“We are writing to thank you for your heroism and to proudly award you the 2020 Support Our Heroes Award.

“You were nominated for this award by Patrick Houtman who stated, in part:

“‘He deployed to Iraq in May 2003 and stayed a year. Their mission in Baghdad was to repair infrastructure in the city and airport. He brought his entire unit home unscathed ... John spent a year in Afghanistan and was blown up once by an IED [improvised explosive device], but refused evacuation and chose to be treated in theater to stay with his unit ... I am blessed and honored to call him my friend.’

“Enclosed you will find a check for $30,000 to be used as you see fit. It is a small token of our appreciation of the sacrifice you have given to our communities and country.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your heroism.”

Fisher said he knew nothing of his nomination for the award by his friend. “Rush was always a big supporter of the military, the police and first responders,” he said. “The award was a total surprise. Rush and his wife’s foundations wanted to recognize police and military people who were being denigrated in the media for their service.”

Fisher said he sent Limbaugh and his wife a thank-you letter with a piece of original parachute cloth recovered in Normandy during World War II.

”I acquired it from a family when I worked in Normandy.” 

He went to Normandy a few years ago in his official capacity as an Army officer to take part in a series of celebrations commemorating an anniversary of the end of the war.

During his deployment to Iraq, Fisher commanded the 249th Engineers during infrastructure reconstruction. Previous overseas missions included command of the 489th unit – about 500 soldiers – conducting civil affairs projects over the entire country of Afghanistan, and leadership of a joint U.S. Army and U.S. Marines team in Mali, West Africa. There, the team conducted medical and veterinary missions.

Now in his retirement, Fisher occasionally involves himself with sting operations, though of a sweeter variety. A member of the Sussex County Beekeepers Association, he tends his hives, harvests honey, and occasionally answers the call of duty when friends or associates call on him to help capture a swarm of bees, rallying around their queen, for creation of a new hive.

Loyalty runs deep in John Fisher.