North High School Wall of Honor
Jack Lavere Bohner
Class of January, 1940
Research done by Claradell Shedd, class of 1953. PAGE IN PROGRESS
Jack Lavere Bohner
Jack was a member of the North High's class of January, 1940. His next of kin was listed as Mrs. Gladys Bohner, 837 17th Street, Des Moines, IA. His service number was 3213909.
Jack Lavere Bohner
Year x Rank x Status
January, 1940 x x x Graduated from North High, Des Moines, IA
February 19, 1940 x US Navy x Enlisted at U.S. Navy Recruiting Station, Des Moines, IA.
February 20, 1940 x US Navy/
Apprentice Seaman
x Boot camp in Great Lakes, Chicago, IL
January 23, 1941-
June 18, 1941
US Navy US Naval Air Station, Seattle, WA
June 18, 1941-
Sept 2, 1942
x US Navy x Fleet Air Detachment Naval Air Station; San Diego, CA
date x US Navy x Alameda Naval Air Station, CA
February 14, 1942 x Family x Married Hazel "Jean" Sewell at Reno, Nevada. Divorced 02/01/89.
date x stationed x VP-44, Seattle, WA. Radio school.
June 4-7, 1942 x US Navy x Participated in Battle of Midway. Served as crew member on a PBY-5A Cataline Parol Squadron, rescuing Ensign George Gay, sole survivor of Torpedo Squardon 8 off of the aircraft carrier Yorktown. The Yorktown was sunk by a Japanese submarine on June 7, 1942. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-8c.htm
Sept., 1943-
Nov., 1946?
x US Navy/Ensign x Flight training at Natchitoches, LA (Northwestern State University of Louisiana). It was called a War Training Service (WTS) school operated by the Civil Aviation Authority.
date x US Navy x Pacific Theater. Flew PBY-5A seaplane. (Patrol Squadron 44?)
August 15, 1949-
July 24, 1951
x US Navy x Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, TX
Abt 1970 x US Navy x 30-1/2 years in Navy. Jack served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
August 31, 1970 x US Navy/
Commander
x Discharged. Discharged where?
September, 1970 x Schooling x University of West Florida; Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education
Retired x Retired x Volunteer work in Pensacola, FL
July 11, 2008 x Deceased x Interred at Barrancas National Cemetery, Naval Air Station, 1 Cemetery Road, Pensacola, FL 32508. Section A-16; Row B, Site 6.Grave locator: http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGLMap?ID=7889851
July 21, 2008 x Burial x Barrancas National Cemetery, as above
Jack Lavere Bohner

Jack L. Bohner, CDR, USN (Ret.), was born on November 15, 1921 in Des Moines, IA. He enlisted in the Navy on February 19, 1940 as an apprentice seaman and attended boot camp in Chicago, IL. His first tour of duty was VP-44 in Seattle, WA when he also attended Radio School. He was selected for and ordered to flight training in Natchitoches, LA in September of 1943, which he completed in April of 1946 as an aviation pilot 1/C.

His career over a period of 30-1/2 years earned him the Air Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, WWI Victory Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
He retired in September 1970 at which time he returned to college and received his bachelor of arts in Elementary Education. He currently does volunteer work in Pensalcola, FL.

June 7, 1942: Jack Bohner was aboard the Navy seaplane that rescued George Gay, the sole survivor of Torpedo 8 in the Battle of Midway. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-8c.htm
Navy Archives (on-ship photo archive): http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/03/0316.htm

I need the information of on which vessels Jack served so that I can place the appropriate photos below of those ships.

PBY-5A Catalina; circa 1943 Below: PBY-5A Aircraft flown in Pacific Theater
Seaman Jack Lavere Bohner 1941: On leave in Des Moines
Seaman Jack Lavere Bohner
05/17/40; Seattle, King, WA
Leave in Des Moines
1941; Des Moines, Polk, IA
1946: Medal recipient
WWII Memorial, Washington, D.C. 2006
Jack Lavere Bohner
Commander/O5
Patrol Squadron VP-44
United States Navy
US Navy Seal

Enlisted Navy Aviation Pilots Logo

Silver Eagles Association

Navy Pilot Wings

1946: Ensign Jack Lavere Bohner
Navy Officer Cap Device

Navy Commander's Sleeve


Radioman 3Class



Air Medal, Good Conduct, American Defense Service,
National Defense Service, WWII Victory, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign

References
A comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of North High School graduates can be found online at: http://www.ndmhs.com/. Jack Lavere Bohner's 1940 class can be viewed at: http://ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1940(1990.50).html. 2002: Jack Lavere Bohner; Pensacola, FL
Deceased: July 11, 2008; Pensacola, FL
Music: "Anchors Aweigh" by the U.S. Navy Band
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