Memorial

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James K. Hunter was born on a farm near Waterford, Minnesota. He was the oldest child of Laurence Hunter and Mary Hendricks. The family later moved to Waterford. At school Jim was well liked and very popular. He was a good student. He played football, participated in school plays and sang in the choir. He graduated from Northfield High School in 1940 and obtained a job as a waiter.

He joined the Infantry of the National Guard in Northfield, Minnesota on 10 February 1941.

His infantry unit was assigned to report to the European Theater and was scheduled to ship out in early 1942. However, on 7 January his father passed away suddenly at the age of 51. Jim returned home. He helped his mother resettle in her hometown of Hastings, Minnesota. When he returned to the service he was transferred to the Army Air Corps. He had always wanted to fly and had completed the necessary paper work requesting the transfer many months earlier. Since his unit had already departed for Europe, the army reviewed his application and he was selected to attend officers training nothwithstanding the fact that he only had a high school education.

The airplane was hit by 20 mm flak and a small fire started on the right wing. With only seconds in which to work, Capt Hunter, considered one of the best pilots in the group, picked his spot and started to bring the B-24 in on its belly. At less then 50 feet, however, the right inboard engine burst into flames. The right wing dropped and it was too low when the plane hit. The instant was captured by a camera in another aircraft. The plane then slid on the ground, crashed into a haystack and exploded. It came to rest in a field about three fourths of a mile northeast of a train overpass near the town of Udenhout.

Because of the low altitude, no one was able to bail out. Nine crew members were killed. One man survived, evaded capture and was kept hidden until the town was liberated by Canadian troops.