John Campbell McCormack, better known as Jack McCormack, died August 4, 2015, after a three-year battle with a rare form of Leukemia, according to his son, John McCormack, Jr. He was 84 and living in Santa Ynez, California, at the time of his death.

McCormack moved to California when he was a young child and started racing dirt track on a Triumph under a fake name because his parents were against him riding or racing motorcycles. During the Korean War, he joined the U.S. Marines and served most of his time as a drill instructor at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego, California, according to his namesake.

After leaving the Marine Corps, McCormack went to work for a U.S. Triumph distributor as a regional manager, prior to going to work for a new Japanese motorcycle manufacturer, Honda. McCormack was instrumental in Honda’s legendary advertising campaign with the slogan, “You Meet The Nicest People On a Honda.” The advertising campaign was a huge success, and Honda’s motorcycle sales and dealer network grew significantly.

McCormack eventually left American Honda and was contracted by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) to set up U.S. Suzuki, which he did as a 25% owner in the new company. A few years after establishing U.S. Suzuki, McCormack was bought out by SMC.

McCormack then established his own brand, American Eagle, which purchased private label motorcycles and recreational vehicles from companies like Italjet, Kawasaki and Laverda and sold them under the American Eagle name. American Eagle also introduced new concepts to the industry like stand-alone stores with prominent display windows.

American Eagle grew to have over 100 dealers, but when it became very difficult to find the capital to fuel the company’s growth, McCormack decided to shut down American Eagle. McCormack followed up American Eagle with the Jackwal Corporation, which was responsible for creating and selling the Superwedge motorcycle fairing, among other products.

McCormack went on to found, co-found and lead several other companies and projects outside of the motorcycle industry.

He was featured in Aaron P. Frank’s book “Honda Motorcycles” and Rudy Socha’s book “Above & Beyond: Former Marines Conquer the Civilian World.”

McCormack is survived by his wife Gerry; a stepson Scott; and five sons: Michael, Clarence, Frank, John Jr., and Steven.