John McSevney served in the U.S. Army as a Major with the 60th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division during World War II. He was killed in action on February 7, 1945 while leading his infantry battalion on Luzon Island. He was preparing for his battalion to assault a heavily defended position in the Zambales mountains, overlooking Clark Field on Luzon. In order to view the ground over which his troops were to attack, Major McSevney made a personal reconnaissance into an area which the Japanese were blasting with mortars and sweeping with machine gun fire. He advanced to within 100 yards of these enemy positions in order to locate them. Then, in order to direct the attack against these positions, he exposed himself on high ground within sight and range of enemy machine guns. It was while delivering his order that he was killed by a burst of machine gun fire. The high ground on which he lost his life has been named "McSevney Hill" in his honor. He was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.
