Jack B. Hafner
Jack B Hafner was born in 25-Jan 1919 in South Dakota. His father was Louis Charles Hafner Sr. (1876–1952) and his mother was Bessie Mable Maxwell (1880–1930). Jack had four brothers: David, Louis, Vaughn, and Robert and five sisters: Abagail, Bessie, Maxine, Peggy, and Kathryn.
By 1930, according to the Federal Census, Jack and his family were living in Winona, Shannon County, South Central Missouri. Jack was 11. He graduated from Winona High School in Winona and then attended Northwest Missouri State Teachers College in Maryville Missouri.
At the time he registered for the draft, he reported he was unemployed. Jack enlisted 29-Oct 1940 in Missouri. His service number was 3423157. On 30-Jun 1940, he was shown mustered aboard the battleship USS Texas BB-39. He was shown still on the Texas in December 1941. On 7-Dec 1941, the USS Texas was in Casco Bay, Maine, resting after three months of duty at Naval Station Argentia in Newfoundland. The battleship was there preparing for its next patrol when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
A short time later, on 25-Feb 1942 he was shown mustered aboard the USS Stratford AP-41 a small transport ship. On 6-Apr 1942 he was shown mustered aboard the USS Juneau CL-52. He was a Seaman 1c.
In early November 1942, as the struggle for control of Guadalcanal remained undecided, both the Allies and the Japanese were desperately trying to reinforce the island with troops, food, and ammunition while trying to prevent the other side from doing the same. Although two American convoys arrived safely on 11 and 12 November, they had only partially unloaded their cargoes when intercepted Japanese indicated strong Japanese naval forces were approaching the island on a shore bombardment mission. As the American transports steamed eastwards for safety, an American force of five cruisers and eight destroyers, under command of Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan took up station in the strait between Guadalcanal and Florida Island near Savo Island.
After midnight on 13 November, a Japanese formation of two battleships, a light cruiser, and eleven destroyers steamed past Savo Island, heading toward Guadalcanal. At 0124, these warships appeared on American radar and the two forces closed rapidly. Poor radar coordination, however, left the American warships vainly trying to pin down the location of the Japanese warships. The leading destroyers of both forces sighted each other briefly in the darkness and at 0145 USS Juneau received the order, “Stand by to open fire.” A few minutes later, just after a Japanese searchlight flicked on, the lead American destroyers opened fire at the Japanese warships at a mere 1,600 yards. The Japanese replied in kind and the two formations quickly mingled together, firing into each other at point-blank range in the glare-lit darkness.
Within minutes, the Japanese destroyer Akatsuki and the American cruiser USS Atlanta lay dead in the water, victims of shell and torpedo hits. Meanwhile, the two Japanese battleships, worried that American torpedo-armed destroyers were too close for comfort, tried to turn away. Still, the four American destroyers in lead fired guns and torpedoes at Hiei, the nearest Japanese battleship, damaging her superstructure with numerous shell hits. Two of the American destroyers USS Cushing and USS Laffey were mortally wounded after a brief fire fight, with Laffey exploding and sinking shortly thereafter.
The engagement turned against the American task force when three Japanese destroyers conducted a torpedo attack from the northern flank. Torpedo hits damaged cruiser USS Portland and sank destroyer USS Barton. Gunfire from these and other Japanese warships turned USS Monssen into a smoking wreck and damaged both cruiser USS San Francisco and destroyer USS Aaron Ward. In return, by the time the fifteen-minute battle ended, destroyer Yudachi was a burning hulk and battleship Hiei was left crippled, steering an erratic course to the northwest. By the following afternoon, owing to scuttling charges or damage, Atlanta, Cushing, and Monssen had all sunk. Two Japanese ships soon joined them when Yudachi exploded under shell fire from Portland, and Hiei went under following bomb and torpedo hits delivered by Navy and Marine aircraft.
The light cruiser Juneau (CL-52), in which SM1C Jack B. Hafner the five Sullivan brothers were aboard, suffered a different fate. Just a few minutes into the battle, Juneau was hit by a Japanese torpedo on the port side near the forward fire room. The shock wave from the explosion buckled the deck, shattered the fire control computers, and knocked out power. The cruiser limped away from the battle, down by the bow and struggling to maintain 18 knots. She rejoined the surviving American warships at dawn on 13 November and zig-zagged to the southeast in company with two other cruisers and three destroyers.
About an hour before noon, the task force crossed paths with Japanese submarine I-26. At 1101, the submarine fired three torpedoes at San Francisco. None hit that cruiser, but one passed beyond and struck Juneau on the port side very near the previous hit. The ensuing magazine explosion blew the light cruiser in half, killing most of the crew. A message from USS Helena to a nearby B-17 search plane reported that Juneau was lost at latitude 10 degrees South and longitude 161 degrees East and that survivors were in the water. The sinking location was subsequently modified to 10 degrees South and 161 degrees East.
Owing to the risk of another submarine attack and because the sections of Juneau sank in only a few minutes, the American task force did not stay to check for survivors. However, approximately 115 of Juneau’s crew survived the explosion. But, as Helena’s message unfortunately did not reach Noumea and there remained uncertainty about the number of Japanese ships in the area, rescue efforts did not begin for several days. Exposure, exhaustion, and shark attacks whittled down the survivors and only ten men were rescued from the water eight days after the sinking. Jack B. Hafner was listed as Missing in Action.
The seas where thee Junea sunk became known as “Ironbottom Sound” owing to the many sunken ships littering the sea floor from the naval battles.
SM1c Jack B. Hafner is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.
Jack B. Hafner was eligible for the following medals and commendations:
- Purple Heart
- World War II Victory Medal
- Combat Action Ribbon
- American Campaign Medal
- Navy Presidential Unit Citation
- Navy Good Conduct Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
- Navy Expeditionary Medal
For more of his story, click on the pdf below.
KIA Jack B Hafner 13-NOV Juneau
