JOHN C. HUNTER, LTJG, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
John Hunter '36

Date of birth: September 27, 1912

Date of death: December 8, 1941

Age: 29

Lucky Bag

From the 1936 Lucky Bag:

1936 Hunter LB.jpg

JOHN CHARLES HUNTER

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Jack"

Not once, but twice, Jack left Philadelphia to become a Middy. Disgusted with the political situation of '08, he decided on a non-political life at sea. Having slightly deviated lower extremities, he soon learned that these irregular limbs were sturdy sea legs. It wasn't long until his good-nature and kind-heartedness were recognized by all. Few, if any, have more friends than Jack and no one is more welcome any place; always glad to make someone happy and never failing to have the dope for the next class. If ever anyone is the target for nick-names he is, but his amiable personality warrants them. He is a wrestler who knows his "bars" and always ready to take on the best of cribbage players. One will always find Jack in with the best.

Football 4, 3, 2, 1; Wrestling 4, 3, 2, 1, wNt; N Club; N.A.C.A. 2, 1; 1 Stripe

1936 Hunter LB.jpg

JOHN CHARLES HUNTER

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Jack"

Not once, but twice, Jack left Philadelphia to become a Middy. Disgusted with the political situation of '08, he decided on a non-political life at sea. Having slightly deviated lower extremities, he soon learned that these irregular limbs were sturdy sea legs. It wasn't long until his good-nature and kind-heartedness were recognized by all. Few, if any, have more friends than Jack and no one is more welcome any place; always glad to make someone happy and never failing to have the dope for the next class. If ever anyone is the target for nick-names he is, but his amiable personality warrants them. He is a wrestler who knows his "bars" and always ready to take on the best of cribbage players. One will always find Jack in with the best.

Football 4, 3, 2, 1; Wrestling 4, 3, 2, 1, wNt; N Club; N.A.C.A. 2, 1; 1 Stripe

Loss

John was lost on December 8, 1941, when the aircraft he was piloting suffered an engine failure approximately 175 miles from USS Lexington (CV 2) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A search for him and his crewman was unsuccessful. They were "on the morning scouting flight."

John and his crewman were members of Scouting Squadron (VS) 2. The ship was returning from a ferry mission to Wake Island that had been called off due to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Other Information

His wife was listed as next of kin.

John has a memory marker in Pennsylvania.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

July 1936
Ensign, USS New York


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Archibald Greenlee '32 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B)
ENS George Nicol '34 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B)
January 1937
Ensign, USS New York


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Archibald Greenlee '32 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B)
ENS George Nicol '34 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B)
April 1937
Ensign, USS Louisville

September 1937
Ensign, USS Louisville


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
January 1938
Ensign, USS Louisville


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
July 1938
Ensign, USS Louisville

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Charles Ostrom '30 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
LTjg Charles Brewer '34 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
January 1939
Ensign, USS Louisville

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Charles Ostrom '30 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
LTjg Charles Brewer '34 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 5)
June 1940
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Squadron (VS) 2, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LT Clair Miller '29 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)\
LT Charles Crommelin '31 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)\
LTjg Robert Fair '33 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Price '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Allan Wussow '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Willard Sampson '40 (USS Lexington)
November 1940
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Squadron (VS) 2, USS Lexington


Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LT Louis Shane, Jr. '26 (USS Lexington)\
LT Clair Miller '29 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)\
LT Baylies Clark '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)\
LT Charles Crommelin '31 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)\
LTjg Robert Isely '33 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)\
LTjg Robert Fair '33 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Joel Davis, Jr. '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)\
LTjg Raymond Moore '37 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)\
ENS Edward Price '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Allan Wussow '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Edward Seiler, Jr. '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Willard Sampson '40 (USS Lexington)
April 1941
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Squadron (VS) 2, USS Lexington


Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LT Louis Shane, Jr. '26 (USS Lexington)\
LT Weldon Hamilton '28 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)\
LT Clair Miller '29 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)\
LT Charles Crommelin '31 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)\
LTjg Robert Fair '33 (USS Lexington)\
LTjg Joel Davis, Jr. '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)\
LTjg Raymond Moore '37 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)
ENS Leonard Thornhill '38 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)\
ENS Harry Bass '38 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)\
ENS Edward Price '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Allan Wussow '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Edward Seiler, Jr. '39 (USS Lexington)\
ENS Willard Sampson '40 (USS Lexington)

Memorial Hall Error?

John is not listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall. While not an obvious error, inclusion on the panel for crashes like this—which appears to be incidental to a combat flight—has been inconsistent across WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.


Class of 1936

John is one of 39 members of the Class of 1936 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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