John Lloyd Kinslow

Hagerstown, Maryland — Valley City, North Dakota

November 17, 1962 – September 12, 2026

John Lloyd Kinslow, 63, of Valley City, North Dakota, a proud United States Marine and co-founder of the online organization GayVeterans.us, passed away on September 12, 2026.

Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, to Clyde and Hjordis Kinslow, he was the second youngest of ten children. When he was five, his family moved north to North Dakota, where he grew up near Rogers and Dazey and graduated from Valley City High School.

As a junior, John joined the Army National Guard to help his mother with bills. As a senior, on April Fools' Day, he signed an open-contract enlistment with the United States Marine Corps. His martial arts instructors were both Marines who told him he would never make it through and made a bet. Thirteen weeks later, including a week in Physical Conditioning Platoon, he returned to the dojo a United States Marine. Senpai held out his hand to Sensei. The bet was $50. He served as a Field Radio Operator with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines.

After boot camp, John trained at the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School in Twentynine Palms, California, as a radar repair technician and at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, as a Field Radio Operator. Upon graduation, he was assigned to 1/8, which was preparing for deployment as part of the UN Multinational Peacekeeping Force.

On October 23, 1983, Lance Corporal John Kinslow, 20, was sleeping in the Battalion Landing Team headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, when a suicide truck bomb destroyed the building. The blast threw him from one side of the structure to the other, and he sustained many injuries, including a torn artery. A corpsman gave him morphine, and he was flown to the USS Iwo Jima. Two of his best friends died a few feet from him. He lived with PTSD for the rest of his life.

Due to being nondeployable from his wounds, John ended his active Marine service in May 1985.

He carried his brothers with him. "I want people to remember those who gave their lives to this country because they believed in it. Two of my best friends died just feet from me. Why were they taken and not me?"

Having experienced discrimination within his community and in the military, he found purpose in creating a safe place for LGBTQ veterans. John helped found GayVeterans.us, a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to combat discrimination and to ensure LGBTQ+ veterans receive respect and earned benefits. It has since expanded to support gay first responders in police, fire, and EMT communities. Nobody should have to hide anymore.

Those who knew him in Valley City remember him for being exceptionally kind — the person who was always bringing people together. He was the friend who would lend an ear, help people through rough times, and drop in to give them the biggest hug you could get in Valley City. His college and military colleagues and friends will miss him dearly.

John was preceded in death by his father, Clyde Kinslow; his mother, Hjordis Campbell; sisters, Mary Holsen and Pat Malec; and brothers, Logan Kinslow, Allan Kinslow, and Peter Kinslow.

He is survived by three sisters and beloved nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews.

A celebration of life will be held on October 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pavilion in Chautauqua Park in Valley City. Memorials and donations (501c3) in his name may be made at www.gayveterans.us

October 23, 1983 — They came in peace. He stood the watch. The watch is ours now. Semper Fi. Rest in Rainbows... Uncle John. We love you.