John “Jack” Edward Fuller

John "Jack" Edward Fuller

Quick Facts

Significance:

US Navy Sailor, World War II, KIA

Place of Birth:

Dayton, Illinois

Date of Birth:

March 7, 1918

Place of Death:

Near Okinawa

Date of Death:

July 30, 1945

Place of Burial:

Colona, Illinois

Cemetery Name:

Dayton Cemetery

John “Jack” Edward Fuller, Seaman 3/7/18 (27)

John “Jack” Edward Fuller was born in Dayton, Illinois on March 7, 1918. His father, Arthur, worked as a harvest-machine repairman until his death in 1929. Arthur’s widow, Ella, was left with young Jack and four other children.

After his marriage in February 1942, Fuller and his wife, Betty, lived in Moline, Illinois, where he worked as a “shake-out man” separating solidified castings from molds at the Frank Foundry. The young couple would not be together for long. On August 8, 1943, Fuller enlisted in Moline and reported to the Naval Recruiting Station in Chicago ten days later.

John Edward Fuller Personnel File, National Archives

The months that followed his enlistment were busy and packed with moves. That fall, Fuller attended the Naval Training School in Farragut, Idaho. In November 1943, he reported to Treasure Island Naval Station, San Francisco, where he entered a short program that involved firefighter, deck petty officer, and gunnery training. Fuller then reported to naval receiving ship, San Francisco before returning to Treasure Island. On December 31, Fuller boarded the USS Cassin Young (DD-793) on the day of her commissioning.

Following several weeks of at sea training in Hawaii, the USS Cassin Young departed with a naval task force for raids on Japanese targets in Micronesia before moving on to assist in the capture of Saipan, Guam, Tinian, and Peleliu, as well as assist in the campaign to liberate the Philippines. Between February and March 1945, the Navy's attention turned to supporting the Marines in the capture of Iwo Jima as US forces moved steadily closer towards the Japanese Home Islands; the USS Cassin Young assisted in operations that were part of this critical campaign.

On April 1, 1945, the naval and air bombardment of Okinawa began. The USS Cassin Young was one of several smaller warships acting as radar picket for the invasion fleet. A mass kamikaze raid on the US fleet and ships of America's Allies occurred on Thursday, April 12, when several Japanese aircraft attempted suicide runs against USS Cassin Young. Most of the aircraft were shot down by the ship’s gunners and others managed to strafe the ship with bullets before crashing into the sea. One plane exploded after striking the ship’s radar mast, killing one sailor and wounding 59. Among the wounded was Fuller, who suffered a bullet wound to the right leg, for which he would later receive the Purple Heart.

Okinawa was declared secure on June 22, but Japan continued to launch kamikaze attacks against Allied ships. On July 30, 1945, a single aircraft managed to elude the USS Cassin Young’s gunners and crashed into the ship’s starboard side and exploded, killing Fuller and 21 other sailors and, wounding another 45. This was the second tragedy to befall his family: Fuller’s brother, William, had been killed in an accidental fall at the Isle Grande Naval Air Station in Puerto Rico in January 1943.

In a hand-written letter to Fuller's mother, Commander John Ailes recalled: “… his keen wit and good humor made him one of the most popular and well liked members of our crew. We will all miss him terribly. He has served his country with distinction.”

Fuller was posthumously awarded a second Purple Heart and Unit Commendation Medal. He is buried at Dayton Cemetery in Colona, Illinois.
 

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