COLONEL SANFORD BEEBE HUNT, UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS
BIOGRAPHY
Col. Sanford B. Hunt, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired) was born on
October, 18, 1915,
in Newark, New Jersey. His family migrated to
California in 1924.
His father,
grandfather and great grand father were
majority
owners and editors of the NEWARK SUNDAY CALL (Newark Call
Printing and
Publishing Co.) in Newark, New Jersey. As a
youth Sanford's
interests
were divided between amateur radio and horses. He was a Petty
Officer (radio) 3rd
class in the U.S. Naval Reserve (1934). His interest
in horses
led him to spend a year working as a ranch hand in Arizona
(1935) and Colorado
(1936) before returning east to Newark, New Jersey.
He became employed in the newspaper
and magazine distributing business
and was
later hired as a reporter and advertising solicitor by the Newark
Sunday Call. During the course of his employment he
resigned from the
Naval Reserve and joined the Marine
Corps Reserve (1940 - December).
Shortly after joining he was called
to active duty as a Private and
performed
duties with the Marine Corps as a radio operator in Quantico,
Virginia and
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He attended Cryptographic Repair
School (top secret) at the Brooklyn
Navy Yard early in 1942, one of two
Marines selected from the Corps for
this mission.
In 1942 while serving with the 1st Marine Division in New Zealand he
received a
field commission to 2nd Lieutenant.
Assigned as Assistant
Division Signal Officer, he
participated in the assault and seizure of
Guadalcanal.
During combat operations on Guadalcanal Island Lt. Hunt
established
and commanded the first U.S. Naval Radio Station on captured
foreign soil
(Radio NGK). He was awarded the BRONZE STAR with combat "V"
and was
subsequently promoted to 1st Lieutenant(1943). Before leaving
Guadalcanal with the 1st Division, Lt.Hunt was assigned duties as Signal
Assistant to the Chief of Staff of
the Division and
remained in that
billet until
he was transferred to the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps,
Noumea, New
Caledonia from Melbourne, Australia, where the division was
recuperating.
From New Caledonia he was sent to the 3rdMarine
Division on
Guadalcanal where he participated in
landings on Emirau Island and
Bougainville in the
Northern Solomons.
(Promoted to Captain 31 January 1944)
Immediately after the Bougainville operation he returned to the United
States (May 1944) and taught Naval
Communications and cryptography in
the Marine
Corps' first Communication Officer's School at the Marine
Corps Base,
Quantico, Virginia. There he
married Helen Louise Smith of
Lubbock, Texas, a Marine Corps
communications sergeant (April 1945) and
soon thereafter was
sent to the 1st Marine Division
in Tientsin,
China as Assistant Staff Secretary. He later served as
Communication Officer, HQ U.S.Marine Corps, Arlington, Va.(Nov.
1947- Aug
1950). There he
spent 33 months, additional
duty, as
a member of
the Joint
Communication Electronics Committee of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff.
(He was promoted to
Major on 1 January 1949.)
Subsequent tours of duty included:
Assistant Force Communication Officer,
Amphibious Forces Atlantic
Fleet.(sea duty)(1950-1952)
Amphibious Warfare School, Quantico, Va.(Sep 52-May 53)
Communication Officer, Marine Corps Recruit
Depot, San Diego.
Battalion Communication Officer, 3rd Shore
Party Battalion, Yokusuka,
Japan.(1954),
Commanding Officer, Communications Company,
3rd Marine Division,
in
GIFU, Japan .(1954)
U.S. Ambassador's Representative
to the Courts of Japan, Gifu, Japan.
Communication Officer 11th Marines (artillery
regiment),
Korea.(1954-1955)
(Major Hunt was promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel on 12 April 1955.)
Duties after the United Nations war in Korea were:
Assistant Communications-Electronics
Officer, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic.(1955-1957)
Commanding Officer 7th Communication
Battalion.(1958)
Amphibious Communication Officer, U.S.Naval Forces, Europe. (Navy-London,
England)(1959-1960)
Deputy Director,
Communications-Electronics, Eastern Atlantic and
Mediterranean (Combined Forces- HQ in
London)(1961-1962)
Member US-UK Plans Board - London.(Joint Cryptographic
matters).
Special Communications Advisor to
President Eisenhower (based aboard the
USS Taconic) during the President's
visit to Pakistan
in 1959.
Chief, U. S. Marine Corps
Communications-Electronics Research and
Development Quantico, Virginia.(1962-1965)
(Promoted to
Colonel 1 July 1963).
Commanding Officer, Marine Corps
Communication-Electronics Schools,
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego(1965-1967).
Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Marine
Corps Recruit Depot San
Diego(1966-1967).
While in San Diego Col. Hunt participated in community activities
and in
particular a working association with city and county educators
for the purpose of
building a computer data base to provide career
guidance for
pre-college students in the San Diego area.
Following the San Diego tour of duty he was ordered to duty
at
Headquarters, Marine Amphibious Force, Danang,
Vietnam, where he was
assigned as
the Assistant Chief of Staff, (G-6), Communications-
Electronics.
This command was
unusual in size
and scope in that III MAF
consisted of two Marine Divisions, three Army
Divisions, one Marine
Aircraft Wing, a
Korean Marine Brigade and miscellaneous
combat
support and
service support units including Army aviation and a U.S.
Navy shore command.
Additional responsibility fell to IIIMAF for
coordination
with, and technical advice to the Vietnam armed forces in
the
Vietnamese I Corps tactical zone. Communication personnel under III
MAF command and/or technical control
numbered some 15,000 Army, Navy,
Marine Corps, Korean Marines and civilians(1967-68).
For his service in Vietnam Col. Hunt was awarded the Legion of
Merit by the United States, the Vietnamese cross of Gallantry with Palm
and the
Vietnamese Honor Medal, First Class, by the Vietnamese
Government.
After serving a year
as Chief of Staff, V Marine
Expeditionary Force, FMF, Pacific at
Camp Pendleton , California (22 May
1968), he was retired for reasons of
physical disability on 1 July 1969
and
permanently disability retired on 1 March 1973. He had served more
than 32 years with the U.S. Armed services. His duties had
taken him
from Cuba to Tientsin, China,
the British Isles, Europe, the
Mediterranean and Red Sea areas, Japan,
Korea and Vietnam. He now
lives in
Lubbock, Texas with his wife, Helen, daughter Leslie Ann
Hunt-Bond and
Leslie's two children. Leslie's
husband lives in Mallorca,
Spain. Son Sanford B. IV, a former Marine
Officer, is Vice Consul at
the American
Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia.
Past positions and activities include: Board of Directors Poway
Municipal Water Distict
in Poway, California (elected office);
Commissioner, San Diego Flood
Control District; Member
San Diego
County Assessment Appeals Board; Member San Diego County Schools
Community Educational Resources Advisory Group;
County Local Agency
Formation Commission and while in England
was President of the
London Chapter Armed Forces
Communication & Electronics Association. In
Lubbock Texas 1988/91, charter member
Board of Directors of the Lubbock
Area Coalition for Literacy (Board
treasurer) and President of the Gloria
Dei Lutheran
Church.
He was a Boy Scout Commissioner in
Virginia and California. His last
paid
employment was as a Special Deputy
Sheriff, San Diego County
California where he was awarded the
Sheriff's Department Distinguished
Service Medal after
10 years of service.
Col. HUNT
retired from 9 years volunteer service with the Lubbock
Police Department on Jan 31, 1996.. He is a member of the Greater Lubbock
Rotary Club and
actively working on genealogy at home.
HONORS and DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
San Diego County Sheriff's
Department
Legion of Merit(Combat)
Bronze Star (Combat)
Rep. of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry
with Bronze Palm
Republic of Vietnam Honor Medal 1st
Class
U. S. Navy Commendation Ribbon
Four U.S. Presidential Unit
Citation Ribbons
Organized Marine Corps
Reserve Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Victory Medal World War II
China Service Medal
American Campaign Medal with Star
American Defense Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Republic of Vietnam Commendation
Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Combat Action Medal(Vietnam)
Letters of commendation and appreciation were received from:
U.S. Military Command, Vietnam
Republic of Korea Marine Corps
U.S. Army 1st Signal Brigade
U.S. Army 37th Signal Battalion
U.S. Naval Forces Europe
USS Gen. A. E. Anderson
plus more than 30 others from
Navy and Marine Corps
commands.
Col. Hunt was a Marine Corps pistol Expert (.45 calibre
automatic) and
a rifle Sharpshooter.