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John Meigs Commers

Private John M. Commers served with the Marine detachment aboard the cruiser USS Quincy (CA-39).
He was lost at sea in the battle of Savo Island, off Guadalcanal, on 9 August 1942.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 289848

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Lost At Sea

Pursuit Category

Based on circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

February 10, 1921
at Estill Springs, TN

Parents

John Wesley Commers
Lena Edna (Webb) Commers

Education

McMinnville Central High School

Occupation & Employer

Family Farm

Service Life

Entered Service

July 30, 1940
at Nashville, TN

Home Of Record

29 North Vine Street
Winchester, TN

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Lena Commers

Military Specialty

Marine Detachment

Primary Unit

USS Quincy

Campaigns Served

Atlantic Patrols
Guadalcanal / Savo Island

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Private John Commers served with the Marine detachment aboard the heavy cruiser USS Quincy from 1941 to 1942. Much of that time was spent on patrol or escort duty in the Atlantic, as Commers stood regular watches and trained at his battle station – likely one of the cruiser’s anti-aircraft batteries. Quincy’s Pacific service started in the summer of 1942; on 7 August 1942, she fired the opening shots of the battle of Guadalcanal, and provided fire support and anti-aircraft defense for the Marine landings. She then assumed patrol duties with sister ships USS Astoria and USS Vincennes.

At 0147 on 9 August, Quincy received a report of “strange ships entering harbor.” General quarters sounded; a few minutes later, the first shells hit the cruiser. Marine Corporal Jasper Lucas recalled the sudden surprise and horror of the battle that followed.

Quiet as a graveyard. Then, all at once, we were caught in a sweep of searchlights. The Jap fleet was coming at us.... We were being hit by shellfire, and shrapnel was whizzing about like hail. You could see it raining off the turret – it looked like rain hitting a window and bouncing off.

Somebody yelled below, "We're on fire! The Quincy's burning!" The gun deck was aflame. A torpedo had hit us, going through the main engine room..... We knew we were sinking. We knew we were out of the fight. We had no power, no control over the ship; she was beginning to list, and we knew she was on her way out....

She went down like the dignified old lady she was. Deliberately, easily, without fuss or bother, she turned her fantail right in the face of the entire Imperial Japanese Navy and with all screws turning sank beneath the waves. The screws whirred like a fan in the air, then, as it went, churned the water white. The commotion in the water died down. The USS Quincy had gone under.

Damage report for USS Quincy, 1942.

Private Commers was  listed as “missing” after the battle of Savo Island; no eyewitness accounts of his final moments are known to exist. He was officially declared dead on 10 August 1943 – one of approximately 370 sailors and Marines who lost their lives in the sinking of the USS Quincy.

Burial Information or Disposition

Remains lost at sea; ship considered to be final resting place.

Memorials

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Mount Garner Cemetery, Derned, Tennessee

The wreck of the Quincy was discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1992.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of mother, Mrs. Lena Commers.

Location Of Loss

The Quincy sank in Iron Bottom Sound at 0240 hours.

Related Profiles

USS Quincy Marines lost at Savo Island
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