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Remember...George Hunter Neese
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George Hunter Neese was born November 15, 1924, in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia, to Paul Ellsworth Neese and Helen M. Cronin Neese. A native Pennsylvanian, Paul moved to Morgantown for work as a coal miner. George had two older siblings: Charles P. and Sarah B. Neese. By the 1940s, the family consisted of 11 children, including Mary C. (married name: Hunkele), Edward F., William G., Dolores A. (married name: Montgomery), Patricia A. (married name: Campbell), Paul J., Thomas E., and Naomi R. Neese. George attended St. Francis de Sales Catholic School from fourth grade through high school. However, he did not finish his final year of high school because he chose to enlist in the U.S. Navy. At the age of 17, he was too young to enlist, so his father took him to the recruitment center and signed the paperwork for his enlistment.
George began his training at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois in February 1943, where he received the rank of aviation machinist mate third class (AVMM3c). His additional training included stints at the Naval Air Technical Training Center (Menphis) and Naval Air Gunnery School (Jacksonville). These training sessions honed his skills as an aviation radar operator signaler as well as a gunner, who learned how maintain and assemble .30 and .50 caliber Browning aircraft machine guns both on the ground and in the air.
A year after his enlistment, George was assigned to Composite Squadron 81 (VC-81). This crew was originally scheduled to be deployed to the Atlantic Theater of Operations, but by January of 1944, they were sent to the Pacific Theater. On September 14, 1944, they were assigned to the USS Natoma Bay. Neese became a turret gunner on a TBM-1c Avenger. His three-man crew participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf as the Allies prepared for the invasion of the Philippines. Having been a part of a number of successful operations, Neese was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for "distinguishing himself by excellent service in aerial combat while engaging strong enemy forces."
After a period of rest, the crew returned to the Natoma Bay for additional missions in the islands around the Philippines, leading up to the assault on Luzon. Neese’s crew was preparing to support troop landings through aerial attacks. Returning from an overland bombing run, they were attacked by a Japanese fighter plane. They were pursued out over the ocean but did not reach a carrier, instead performing a water landing. Severely wounded, the other two crew members (pilot and radioman) survived, but the plane went down with George Neese. The citation for his posthumously awarded Air Medal notes his "aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty." His body has never been recovered, and he is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery. In 1963, his mother requested that a headstone for her son be placed in the Grafton National Cemetery.
For a more comprehensive biography of George Neese, refer to the essay written by Zach Eliot of West Virginia University. Essays from the National Cemeteries Project are posted on the West Virginia Humanities Council's website, https://wvhumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neese_George_Hunter-USN.pdf.
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
