Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A U.S. Marine Corps pilot and former Warsaw Community High School English teacher is the July 2026 Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month.
Joseph “Joe” Conlon was born in October 1947 in Muncie to Bill and Harriet. He attended Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis and, after graduating, joined the United States Marine Corps in August 1970, Kosciusko County Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell said in introducing Conlon as the Veteran of the Month.
Conlon began his military career by attending the 69th Officer Candidate Course at Quantico, Va., graduating in late 1970, followed by 72 weeks of flight school in Pensacola, Fla. He was then sent to El Toro, Marine Corps Air Station, in California, and assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, as a CH-53 Delta helicopter pilot. Later, Conlon was assigned to Camp Butler in Okinawa, Japan.
After serving five years in the United States Marine Corps, 1st Lt. Conlon was honorably discharged in September 1975 and enrolled in Indiana University at Bloomington in the master’s degree program in education. McDowell said Conlon immediately seized the opportunity to teach English here at WCHS, teaching for 34 years until his retirement in 2012.
Joe married Joyce Penn in November 1970 and they have two children, Joy and Jason. Joe and Joyce continue to live in Warsaw, enjoying the time spent with their kids and grandkids.
After receiving his framed certificate, Conlon stated, “I’m proud to have served, and I’m also proud to have been a teacher at Warsaw High for 34 years.”
He said he and Joyce started Celebrations, which was located downtown Warsaw on East Center Street, from the 1980s to 2012. His son, Jason, now lives above the store “and we had good times, walking around with the costume gorillas.”
Conlon reiterated he was proud of his service in the Marine Corps “and I still think like a pilot. Semper fi!”
