John Hunter Hurst, Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps, Rank of Captain, 17 November 1961;
Born Perry, Houston County, GA.
NROTC at Georgia Tech, September 1940 until April 1942.
Joined Naval Aviation Cadet Flight Program; Training: Salisbury, NC (Solo Cub), Athens, GA (Pre-Flight), Hutchinson, KS (Primary-Stearman), Corpus Christi, TX (Intermediate—SNV and Advanced—SNI)
Received Naval Aviator designation April 19, 1944; Commissioned 2nd Lt. USMCR. Fighter Check Out F4F and F4U-1 at Green Cove Springs, FL. Further training F4U Cherry Point, NC and Columbia, SC. Temporary Duty Naval Ferry Command, Floyd Bennett Field, NY.
Overseas assignment VMF-222 (F4U-4) Samar, Phillipines. VMF-222 Okinawa Operation. Occupational Duty Yokosoku, Japan VMF441, F4U-1.
Assigned Inactive Reserve status April 1946; Returned to Georgia Tech, Marine Organized Reserve Squadron VMF-351, Atlanta. Squadron ordered to Active Duty, Korea, October 15, 1950, but from California abruptly assigned for Helicopter Training, Quantico, VA, joining First Marine Helicopter Squadron HMR-161 (Sikorsky HRS-1); duty in Korea, May 1951 to post-ceasefire.
Theater ribbons: Pacific, China, Burma, India, and Korea.
Awarded Air Medal with 4 Gold Stars.