John Weigand

John Weigand achieved the rank of Lieutenant in the United States Navy.

He received his commission in 1972 through the Regular Navy ROTC scholarship program at Northwestern University. There he was recognized as a Distinguished Midshipman and achieved the Outstanding Performance on First Class Cruise award. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Journalism. After college, Mr. Weigand studied at the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia, where he served as editor of the school newspaper, and earned the designation of Supply Corps Officer.

At his first duty station, the USS Long Beach (CGN-9), a nuclear-powered cruiser, he served as Disbursing Officer, Wardroom Officer, Ship’s Store Officer, and the ship’s Public Affairs Officer. He served during the ship’s deployment to the Vietnam combat zone from 1973 until the United States evacuation of Vietnam in 1975. His next duty station was shore-based with the Commander Oceanographic Systems Pacific in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Here he was promoted to full Lieutenant and served as the Assistant Supply Officer and volunteered to be the Public Affairs Officer.

In his next assignment, he served as the Acting Chief of the Office of Planning and Management in the Defense Contract Administration Service Regional Office in New York City. In addition to this, he served as Project Officer for the 1979 Combined Federal Campaign for charities, which resulted in the highest amount collected in the history of the command. As the Community Affairs Program Officer, he conducted the Annual Children of Bellevue Hospital Christmas/Chanukah Gift Collection. For his outstanding performance of duty, he was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal.

Mr. Weigand resigned from the Navy in 1979 with an Honorable Discharge. He began his second career, starting in account management with the Navy recruiting advertising campaign at the then-renowned Ted Bates advertising agency.

In his after-work hours, Mr. Weigand was a soloist at Carnegie Hall and other major New York concert venues. In the 1980s, he performed onstage at the National Mall in the 1987 March on Washington and performed in two European concert tours that raised money for AIDS treatment in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Cologne.

He currently lives in New York City, where he is pursuing his third career as a full-time professional actor and singer in theater, film, and TV.