John Carroll came to Hawaii in 1949 to play football under the tutelage of Coach Tommy Kaulukukui. John  lived in Hilo, attended UH Hilo and later graduated from UH Manoa having earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education.  John also earned his professional teaching certificate while working towards a  Masters Degree in Far Eastern Studies.

Carroll went into the US Army prior to graduation from UH.  He served in Korea during the war. He transferred to the US Air Force after graduating from UH.  He went through jet fighter pilot training in the Air Force. He was a combat ready fighter pilot, instrument flight examiner, tactical evaluation officer  and  operational  planner for about fifteen years. His planning included the first deployments of fighters by the Hawaii Air Guard. Carroll was certified as a staff judge advocate and finalized his military career as the  joint staff Judge Advocate for  both the Army and Air National Guard units, State of Hawaii. John is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College as well as the Air War College. He authored the State’s Code of Military Justice and received the Air Force Commendation for his efforts. He retired in 1985.

After earning his wings he went to work as a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines.  He was  employed by Hawaiian from 1958 through December of 1989.  He flew many air craft including the workhorse DC-9.  The last aircraft he captained  was the  Lockheed 1011.  John was a pilots union member for over thirty years.  He still flies float  planes in Alaska as well as gliders on Oahu. John still loves to fly.

John attended law school at St. Mary’s University College of Law, San Antonio, Texas.  While there he flew the Delta Dagger, F-102 for the Texas Air National Guard.  He received the Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree at the time when the normal degree was the Bachelor of Law (Ll. B.)  He was admitted to practice in Hawaii in 1965 after passing the bar examination.  John continues to be a licensed attorney and uses his legal skills largely to benefit others.  He specialized in Aviation law and associated with Melvin Belli on the Aloha and United Airline cases of recent years.

John is currently Chairman of the Board of Hawaii Aviation Contract Services.  His company provides pilots to Japan Airline and Japan Air Charter, JAL’s subsidiary.  John formed the company in 1989 before retiring from Hawaiian. His partner and co-founder is Alexander “Blackie” Bell, formerly of Hilo and a graduate of Kamehmeha. The company employs over 150 pilots, thirty of whom are based in Sydney, Australia and several  based in Anchorage, Alaska.  John believes that providing good jobs is critical to the future of this state and is a key