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A newspaper article headed "Florida Crash Kills Local Navy Man" stated: A Santa Maria youth studying to be a U.S.Navy pilot, Ensign John Michael Souza, was killed in an auto accident Friday night in Florida. He was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Souza, 917 Haslam Drive, Santa Maria.
Ensign Souza was stationed at Whiting Field Florida and was a graduate of Santa Maria High School andthe University of Santa Clara.
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Diana Enos (Hammock)
There is a John Michael Souza buried at the Santa Maria Cemetery.He died 13 May 1966 and was 24 yrs old. Maybe the right one.
Ned Omberg
John 'Punky' Souza was a classmate at Santa Clara University as well as in high school. The last time I saw Punky he was shooting pool in an off-campus bar. I found out he had died - probably from Mike Malone - when I returned from the Peace Corps. I immediately thought of his parents. Since Punky was an only child, it must have been doubly tragic for them.
I remember Punky as someone who thoroughly enjoyed life, a little cocky and nonchalant, never unkind to anybody. I often rode with him between Santa Maria and Santa Clara in his Chevrolet Impala. Punky liked to drive fast, one hand on the wheel and the other holding a can of beer, shooting the breeze and listening to the radio, passing cars and trucks on two-lane highway. But I thought he was a good driver, and a fairly safe one. I suspect the mix of drinking and driving among Pensacola flight cadets on weekend nights was more toxic.
I remember Punky's friends in high school as being Marvin Fleming, Jack Frazier, Ron Cisney and Herb Lizalde.