First Lieutenant Kenneth W. Hunter, Jr.
First Lieutenant Kenneth W. Hunter, Jr., 367th Fighter Group, 394th Fighter Squadron
First Lieutenant Kenneth W. Hunter, Jr. was born on November 21, 1922 in Jacksonville, Florida.[1] According to the 1940 census, Lt. Hunter lived at 1457 Street with his father, mother, and older sister, Kenneth W. Hunter, Sr., Aileen Hunter, Margaret Hunter, respectively.
Lt. Kenneth W. Hunter, Sr. was born in New York and later attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[2] He met and married Aileen, who was from Florida. The couple moved to Florida, where he worked as a manager for a lumber company.[3] They had one other child, Margaret, who later married Lowell M. Clucas on March 29, 1941.[4] As of 2013, she lives in Saint Petersburg.[5]
Lt. Hunter enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves on June 10, 1942, in Jacksonville. According to his enlistment record, he attended an unspecified college for two years. His record also lists his employment as "producing beverages".[6]
Hunter served as a First Lieutenant to the 394th Fighter Squadron of the 367th Fighter Group. The military activated his fighter group on July 15, 1943.[7] Tthey reported to Hamilton Field, California, before deployment to Europe in March of 1944. Along with other members of his squadron, Lt. Hunter piloted either a Lockheed P-38 Lightning or a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
The 394th Fighter Squadron provided air support in the European theatre. This included the D-Day Invasion at Utah Beach in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. As a result of his actions throughout his career, Lt. Hunter received the Distinguished Flying Cross for "demonstrating heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial combat." He also received the Army Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters.[8] Lt. Hunter died November 3, 1944, as a result of noncombat circumstances.[9] His mother was the one relatives notified of his death.[10]