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| Torpedoman's Mate First Class John Hunter was on the USS Meredith when it was sunk by Japanese carrier planes. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=60065192&ref=acom https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56783194 |
John S. Hunter never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on October 16, 1917 in Wyoming. His mother was born in Idaho and his father was born in Scotland. His father worked as a coal miner. John had an older sister, two older brothers, a younger sister and a younger brother.
He enlisted in the Navy on December 15, 1936. He became a torpedoman's mate first class on the destroyer USS Meredith.
At the start of the war Meredith engaged in anti-submarine and escort duty in the North Atlantic. It transferred to the Pacific and participated in the task force accompanying the Doolittle Raiders in April 1942. In August it was sent to the Solomon Islands.
On a mission to deliver much needed aviation supplies to Guadalcanal on October 15, 1942, Meredith was attacked by 38 Japanese planes from the carrier Zuikaku. The destroy suffered an incredible 14 bomb hits and 7 torpedo hits and sunk in 10 minutes. Of the 273 men on board, only 81 survived the three days of shark infested waters until rescued. John Hunter spent his twenty-seventh birthday in the open sea. He died the next day on October 17, 1942.
His cenotaph grave is at Aultorest Memorial Park in Ogden, Utah.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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