John Hannon was a surfer and a Veteran.
Dr. Russell Crawford’s book “The Impact of Ocean Therapy on Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” (2017) outlines a study on whether the ocean can improve wellness. The conclusion was that veterans’ consistent exposure to ocean-based recreation resulted in a 36% decrease in Posttraumatic Stress symptoms, a 47% decrease in depression, and a 68% increase in self-efficacy.
These results should not come as a surprise since most vacations are centered around the stress relief powers of the ocean’s sounds and smell. In the decade following the close of World War II, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not widely diagnosed or recognized. However, according to the National World War II Museum, during the war, an estimated 500,000 soldiers suffered a psychiatric collapse, resulting in 40% of medical dischargers. For millions of returning American soldiers, the miles of Long Island coastline were the much-needed therapy to reconnect with themselves. Many returning soldiers embraced long-standing sports such as fishing, swimming, and boating, but some introduced new sports like surfing.
John Hannon of Bellmore was born in 1927 and grew up around the south shore beaches. At 16, Hannon became a lifeguard at Jones Beach State Park and became fascinated with his supervisor, Bill Coleman’s paddle board. Hannon started surfing on the paddle board, and to many onlookers, Hannon’s use of the board was a novelty. When Hannon graduated high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and witnessed the tail end of the brutal fighting in the Pacific theatre.
“While on leave in Honolulu, Hawaii, he would watch the locals surf by the Outrigger Canoe Club, and during this time, he met fellow Marine Gene DePasquale from Long Island,” stated veteran surfer Eric Eastman of Bay Shore. “Both of them were wounded in a battle; one was wounded in Iwo Jima, which made them bond and became lifelong friends.”
When the war ended, Hannon relocated to Long Beach, California, to try a profession in finance. In the late 1950s, he would return to Long Island and work repairing skis at White Mountain Ski Shop in Great Neck. Reconnecting with his fellow Marine DePasquale and WWII veteran Richard Bolton, the three will become a fixture in Long Beach, surfing all the best wave breaks and sharing their various experiences of the service.
Observing the locals’ interest in him and his friends surfing, Hannon would start making boards in a Quonset hut behind the White Mountain ski shop. As demand in Long Beach grew for the boards, Hannon would hire Edward “Fast Eddie” McCabe to design and craft a board around Long Beach wave breaks.
“He had a Marine mentality: his way, period, but we were all like family,” stated McCabe. “I designed the V-bottom short boards and used multiple colors of paint over doilies to give it a psychedelic finish. I also surfed on his newly established Long Beach surf team (to promote his board) until I was recruited for the Hobi team,”
By late 1961, demand grew, and Hannon opened Hannon Surfboards in Great Neck but later moved operations to Farmingdale. The following year, Hannon would get a rental agreement for the Gilgo Beach concession stand, where he would rent his boards to prospective surfers.
In a 1966 interview with Newsday, Hannon was asked what the new image of a surfer looked like.
“You can’t tell who is a surfer without a surfboard,” Hannon replied. “There are probably 30,000 surfers on Long Island, and a surfer is a person who goes out in the water and really turns it on. On skill, a surfer from Gilgo could go to Malibu, and he’d fit right in.”
His surf shop and rental business would close in 1969, passing the torch to an inspired generation of new surfers.
Hannon and his fellow veterans embraced surfing as a bonding experience over the wounds that war caused in a time that lacked proper healing methods. However, he embraced this sport from Hawaii and became known as the “father of New York surfing,” according to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.
“Hannon was the single greatest factor that has led to the gigantic surf boom throughout Long Island,” wrote Surf Magazine.
He passed in 2020 after a long life riding the waves. Eastman and McCabe remember Hannon as the first person to bring surfing to Long Island.
Dr. Russell Crawford’s book “The Impact of Ocean Therapy on Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” (2017) outlines a study on whether the ocean can improve wellness. The conclusion was that veterans’ consistent exposure to ocean-based recreation resulted in a 36% decrease in Posttraumatic Stress symptoms, a 47% decrease in depression, and a 68% increase in self-efficacy.
These results should not come as a surprise since most vacations are centered around the stress relief powers of the ocean’s sounds and smell. In the decade following the close of World War II, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not widely diagnosed or recognized. However, according to the National World War II Museum, during the war, an estimated 500,000 soldiers suffered a psychiatric collapse, resulting in 40% of medical dischargers. For millions of returning American soldiers, the miles of Long Island coastline were the much-needed therapy to reconnect with themselves. Many returning soldiers embraced long-standing sports such as fishing, swimming, and boating, but some introduced new sports like surfing.
John Hannon of Bellmore was born in 1927 and grew up around the South Shore beaches. At 16, Hannon became a lifeguard at Jones Beach State Park and became fascinated with his supervisor, Bill Coleman’s paddle board. Hannon started surfing on the paddle board, and to many onlookers, Hannon’s use of the board was a novelty. When Hannon graduated high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and witnessed the tail end of the brutal fighting in the Pacific theatre.
“While on leave in Honolulu, Hawaii, he would watch the locals surf by the Outrigger Canoe Club, and during this time, he met fellow Marine Gene DePasquale from Long Island,” stated veteran surfer Eric Eastman of Bay Shore. “Both of them were wounded in a battle; one was wounded in Iwo Jima, which made them bond and became lifelong friends.”
When the war ended, Hannon relocated to Long Beach, California, to try a profession in finance. In the late 1950s, he would return to Long Island and work repairing skis at White Mountain Ski Shop in Great Neck. Reconnecting with his fellow Marine DePasquale and WWII veteran Richard Bolton, the three will become a fixture in Long Beach, surfing all the best wave breaks and sharing their various experiences of the service.
Observing the locals’ interest in him and his friends surfing, Hannon would start making boards in a Quonset hut behind the White Mountain ski shop. As demand in Long Beach grew for the boards, Hannon would hire Edward “Fast Eddie” McCabe to design and craft a board around Long Beach wave breaks.
“He had a Marine mentality: his way, period, but we were all like family,” stated McCabe. “I designed the V-bottom short boards and used multiple colors of paint over doilies to give it a psychedelic finish. I also surfed on his newly established Long Beach surf team (to promote his board) until I was recruited for the Hobi team,”
By late 1961, demand grew, and Hannon opened Hannon Surfboards in Great Neck but later moved operations to Farmingdale. The following year, Hannon would get a rental agreement for the Gilgo Beach concession stand, where he would rent his boards to prospective surfers.
In a 1966 interview with Newsday, Hannon was asked what the new image of a surfer looked like.
“You can’t tell who is a surfer without a surfboard,” Hannon replied. “There are probably 30,000 surfers on Long Island, and a surfer is a person who goes out in the water and really turns it on. On skill, a surfer from Gilgo could go to Malibu, and he’d fit right in.”
His surf shop and rental business would close in 1969, passing the torch to an inspired generation of new surfers.
Hannon and his fellow veterans embraced surfing as a bonding experience over the wounds that war caused in a time that lacked proper healing methods. However, he embraced this sport from Hawaii and became known as the “father of New York surfing,” according to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.
“Hannon was the single greatest factor that has led to the gigantic surf boom throughout Long Island,” wrote Surf Magazine.
He passed in 2020 after a long life riding the waves. Eastman and McCabe remember Hannon as the first person to bring surfing to Long Island.
