“I did what I was supposed to do”

Published 11:00 am Thursday, August 17, 2023

Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks (left), Jack Hunter (center) and Mike Durant visit at an event at the Alabama Veterans Museum.

At a graveside service held Monday, Aug. 14, at the Athens City Cemetery, World War II veteran William Pierce “Jack” Hunter, 97, was laid to rest. Hunter was a proud Athenian, loving family man and an American hero.

Hunter was born Feb. 19, 1926, in Athens. After high school, at age 17, he volunteered for service in the U.S. Army but wouldn’t be called up until he was 18 years old. He was soon shipped to Kingsman, Ariz., for training before being stationed at Royal Air Force base Grafton Underwood in England.

Hunter served as a member of the 547th Bombardment Squadron of the 384th Bombardment Group and was a tail gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in World War II. He flew as part of 25 missions over Germany, France, Belgium and Holland.

He spoke with the News Courier in May 2022 about serving in World War II.

“I just sat back there and waited for an airplane, and all I did was catch shrapnel. I got hit in the elbow and wrist when I was in the service,” he said. “By the time I got there, the enemy’s planes hadn’t showed up because we had shot most of them down. We dropped bombs and received shrapnel from them.”

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He added, “We usually flew at around 25,000-26,000 feet. I had a heated suit. A typical mission lasted anywhere from 8-10 hours. You had to get down to low altitude if your heat gave out on you. Most of the time it managed to stay in unless you got hit pretty good. The plane got hit several times, but we always made it back.”

After the war, Hunter went to Jones County Junior College in Mississippi and met the love of his life, Bobbie Windham.

“After I got back, I found the coach that was from the high school. I ran into him at the drug store and I went to Ellisville with him and played football and ran track,” he said. “She came there. That’s when I married her.”

After college, Hunter took a job with TVA as a land surveyor, and he later worked for Mabry Engineering in Decatur. He and Bobbie had two children — a son, William Pierce (Bill) Hunter and a daughter, Cathy Hunter.

When Hunter wasn’t working, he found plenty to keep him busy. He was an avid golfer, enjoyed making furniture and knives and was a regular at each month’s Coffee Call and other events at the Alabama Veterans Museum.

Bobbie and Jack were married for 62 years before she passed away in 2008. Jack Hunter passed away at home Friday, Aug. 11, and is survived by their two children, two grandchildren, and one great grandchild.

He said of his life and time in the service, “That’s what I wanted to do. I guess it turned out alright. I did what I was supposed to do.”