Dana Hunter

Born in Benton on May 3, 1923, Dana Hunter was the son of Walter and Maud (Cain) Hunter. Dana attended schools in Clinton and Benton and graduated from Lawrence High School in the class of 1941.

He was working at the Hollingsworth & Whitney Mill in Winslow when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in December of 1942. Dana was awarded the Purple Heart for an injury he suffered during World War II. He served as a radio operator in the 10th AACS Squad. He also served in North Africa and the China Burma India Theater and was discharged in February 1946. 

Dana survived the bombing and sinking of the HMT Rohna troop ship in the Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 26, 1943. The Rohna was the first ship attacked by German missile fire and suffered 1,149 casualties. Dana was one of the 606 that survived. At the time, the disaster was kept secret for security purposes, but even after the war little information was given until Carlton Jackson told the story in full for the first time in his book, "FORGOTTEN TRAGEDY."

Dana was a charter member of the Clinton Lions Club, a member of the Sebasticook Lodge No. 146, and the Fairfield Veterans of Foreign War. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and made many new friends during his retirement at breakfast in various restaurants throughout central Maine. On June 5, 1947, he married Patricia "Pat" Brown of Pittsfield. He was employed for 48 years by the Hight Family of Skowhegan in the automotive parts field. 

At age 85, Dana passed away at the Togus Veterans Affairs Hospital on Dec. 16, 2008.