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Remember...Gilbert Johnnie Stansberry
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Gilbert Johnnie Stansberry was born September 28, 1925, in Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia. An only child, he was the son of Gilbert Cecil Stansberry and Nettie Snider Stansberry. He was known throughout his life as Johnnie, probably to distinguish him from his father, who had the same given name. Grafton was a railroad town, with many of the townsfolk employed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, but during the Great Depression, which would have included Johnnie's formative years, families there often struggled financially. Cecil, however, did gain employment with the Hazel Atlas Glass Company, makers of glass cookware with several plants throughout the state.
Johnnie's parents divorced in the 1930s. Raising Johnnie as a single mother, Nettie began employment with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a "matron." While most WPA employees worked in construction and the building trades, matrons were assigned to schools in helping roles, such as monitoring restrooms, assisting students with hygiene, and mending clothing.
Johnnie attended Grafton High school through his junior year. The following year, when he turned 18, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserves. He received basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois, followed by more specialized training at the Norfolk Naval Station Operating Base. He then headed to Texas, where he joined the crew of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, a destroyer escort. Seaman Second Class Stansberry would have been involved everyday tasks of maintaining the ship, but he was also a member of the gunnery crew. Leaving Houston, Texas, the sailors wended their way through the Panama Canal headed for Hawaii by way of the Marshall and Admiralty Islands on their way to the invasion of the Philippines.
Johnnie's ship became involved in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest battles in naval history. The intent of Task Unit 77.4.3, of which his ship was a part, was to hold off the Japanese so that the main landing force could secure a hold at the Philippines. But the Sammy B and the other destroyers and destroyer escorts became entangled in a fight against a much larger Japanese force. The crews, especially the gunners of which Johnnie was a part, fought against all odds. Thus, on October 25, 1944, Johnnie lost his life, going down with the ship. Some made their way safely to rafts, but rescue operations were delayed due to additional attacks from kamikazes. When the wreckage of the USS Samuel B. Roberts was found in 2022, it was determined to be the deepest wreck in history to be rediscovered.
A recipient of the Purple Heart and the Silver Star, Gilbert Johnnie Stansberry is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery. He is also honored with a marker at the Grafton National Cemetery.
Essays from the National Cemeteries Project are posted on the West Virginia Humanities Council's website. For a more comprehensive biography of Gilbert Johnnie Stansberry, refer to the essay written by Kevie Sipes and Autumn Starling of Grafton High School at https://wvhumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Stansberry_Gilbert_Johnnie-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.
