Nearly 80 Years Later, 41 PA Natives Who Died In World War II Tragedy Remembered

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — As World War II raged across the globe 79 years ago, the United States suffered one of its worst naval tragedies and losses in history. And two local men made the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to carry democracy through a global inferno.

On April 20, 1944, the American Liberty class ship, SS Paul Hamilton, was patrolling the Mediterranean sea. Of the 580 servicemembers on board, 41 were from Pennsylvania and two from Montgomery County, according to Stories Behind the Stars, a veteran's memorial organization honoring World War II servicemembers.

John Henry Griffin, 27, born in Audubon and raised in Norristown, and Kenneth Cressman Hunsberger, 19, born in Souderton and employed in a mill in Lansdale, were both aboard the Hamilton that day.

The ship was about 30 miles from Cape Bengut off the coast of Algeria when the Germans attacked.

It took just one aerial torpedo to end the Hamilton, because the bomb ignited the explosives stored in the hull of the ship, Stories Behind the Stars recounts.

Griffin and Hunsberger, along with all 580 servicemembers on board, were killed within 30 seconds. It was the worst tragedy suffered by a Liberty class ship in the entire war.

Both Griffin and Hunsberger received the Purple Heart for their sacrifice. While only one of the 580 bodies was ever recovered from that attack, Griffin is memorialized on his parents' tombstone Odd Fellows Cemetery in Danville in Montour County.