Ray Paul Hunter
Ray Paul Hunter was born 26-FEB 1926 in Hayti, Pemiscot County, in Southeast Missouri, known as the “Bootheel.” His parents were Joseph Hunter (1892-1957) and Winnie Terrell Hunter (1891-1980). Ray had four brothers: Paul, Joe, Harry and Vaughn and three sisters: Grace, Virginia, and Geraldine. According to the 1940 Federal Census, Ray lived with his family at McKinley Second Street in Hayti Missouri. He was 14 years old.
Ray enlisted in the Navy on 25-MAY 1942 when he was 17. His service number was 6687386. He served as a Seaman Second Class (S2c). On 31-JUL 1942 Ray was at Receiving Ship, San Francisco, likely waiting for assignment. On 30-NOV 1942, Ray was at Submarine Division 42 and serving as a S2c V-6. Soon, Ray was assigned to the USS Argonaut (SS-166). While on patrol, the ship went missing on 10-JAN 1943.
S2c Ray Hunter was reported missing and ultimately declared dead on 10-Jan 1943. Recorded circumstances attributed to: “Missing in Action, lost at sea,” while serving on the U.S. submarine Argonaut, which was sunk by surface attack and depth charges near Rabaul while operating in the area southeast of New Britain during her third patrol.
Five St. Louis men perished on the Argonaut. The Post-Dispatch reported on 16-JUN 1943 that the Argonaut “Accepted destruction rather than surrender.” The article went on to say, the Navy Department “paid high tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of the Argonaut men.”
The St. Louis men who perished on the Argonaut included:
- Motor Machinist Mate William Edward Vierling
- Seaman Thomas A. Narrow Jr.
- Torpedoman Fred Edsel Schempp
- William H. Myers Jr.
- Electrician Mate, Alfred John Raismas
Four other Missouri men also perished:
- Frank Howard Bowers
- Malcolm Marion Brooks
- Donald Henry Dischner
- Francis Marion Hogg
The story was well documented by an American patrol plane circling overhead and includes post-war Japanese ship reports of the engagement.
For more of the story, click on the pdf below.
