Col. Everett Marion Yon, Sr. (January 13, 1895 – November 25, 1965) was a decorated U.S. Army officer, athlete, coach and athletics administrator. Yon was director of athletics at the University of Florida in Gainesville from 1925–28. Yon played for the Florida Gators football team in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

and

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

, and the Gators baseball team in 1915 and 1916. His career was cut short when he was called by the National Guard to defend the Mexican border in the Battle of Columbus in the spring of 1916. He graduated a few months later before serving in the first World War. He then attended the United States Army Infantry School in

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia, before returning to Gainesville in 1923 as a football coach and an ROTC instructor. He was a line coach at his alma mater under Gen. James Van Fleet from 1923–25. He was appointed athletic director in 1925 but was forced to leave in 1928 when his unit was reactivated. Yon returned to the university after World War II, when he commanded the 25th Infantry in

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...

. During his distinguished career, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

twice and the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

. Yon was later president of the university's booster club. He was the director of Public Relations at the athletic department at the time of his death in 1965, following a long illness. He was the father of Everett Marion Yon, Jr., a West Point graduate with the class of 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yon, Everett 1895 births 1966 deaths American football tackles Florida Gators athletic directors Florida Gators football players Florida Gators baseball players Florida Gators football coaches American people of Dutch descent Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II People from Blountstown, Florida United States Army colonels

See also

References