Hubert Montgomery Hayter was born into a farming family on 17 Oct 1901 at the junction of two ancient trade routes in the small town of Abingdon, Virginia nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. At the cusp of the 20th Century Abingdon had a population of just over 1300.

The third of seven children born to John Montgomery Hayter (1867-1948) and Magaret Ellen Johnson Hayter (1876-1961), he had two sisters, Lucille and Margret, and four brothers, Clifford, John, William and Wilmer.

Hubert entered the US Navel Academy at Annapolis In 1921 where he played football, rowed crew, and was rated an expert riflemen. In the United States Naval Academy yearbook, The Lucky Bag, he was noted for his ability to “call the cows, pigs, chickens which won him distinction; … very frequently his melodious, well-trained voice resounded throughout the mess-hall”. Hubert Hayter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Class of 1924.

In 1925 he married and started a family with Maurine Knatvold Hayter (nee Sieglaff) of Albert Lea, Minnesota. While stationed in San Diego they were blessed with two daughters; Marjorie Ellen (1927-2018) Masek and Phyllis (1929-1988) Townsend. His service until 1939 included duty on the USS Arizona and the USS Augusta, where the family joined him in China and the Philippines. In 1938 the family added a son, John Bernard Hayter (1938-1988).

Hubert served as commanding officer of USS Ramsay (DM 16) from September 1939 through February 1941 when he was transferred to the USS New Orleans (CA-32).

On December 7th 1941 Lt Commander Hayter was serving as Damage Control Officer aboard the Heavy Cruiser USS New Orleans in Pearl Harbor HI responsible for training, conducting drills and overseeing response to fires, shelling and torpedoes. New Orleans was taking power and light from the dock, her engines under repair, when number of her crew were injured when a fragmentation bomb exploded close aboard, but the ship suffered no severe damage during the attack.

Lt Commander Hayter then served aboard the USS New Orleans at the Battle of Coral Sea in May 7-8 of 1942 where the US Navy repelled a southward thrust of the Japanese Navy that threatened Australia and New Zealand. In this battle the USS Aircraft Carrier Lexington was sunk. The New Orleans stood by, her men diving overboard to rescue survivors, and saved 580 of Lexington's crew. The New Orleans then patrolled the Solomon Islands before sailing to replenish at Pearl Harbor.

One month after the Battle of the Coral Sea the New Orleans and Lt Commander Hayter were screening the USS Yorktown when US forces surprised the Japanese at the Battle of Midway on June 4-7 1942, a major Allied Victory and an early turning point in the war in the Pacific.

Again the New Orleans was replenished at Pearl Harbor, steaming out on 7 July to rendezvous with the USS Saratoga for the invasion of the Solomon Islands. In August of ’42 the New Orleans aided the US Marine Corps beachhead on Guadalcanal. At this point, New Orleans had been in the Coral Sea for two full months, and food began to run low. The crew went on half rations and Spam became the main course of every meal; eventually they ran out of rice. After a Japanese submarine torpedoed the Saratoga on 31 August, the New Orleans escorted her to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 21 September.

Lieutenant Commander Hubert Montgomery Hayter was killed in action while serving aboard the USS New Orleans during the Battle of Tassafaronga on November 30th, 1942 when she was struck by a Japanese torpedo that detonated the ship's forward magazines and gasoline tanks. The explosion severed 150 ft of the ships bow and punched several holes in the length of New Orleans. Under extreme conditions of chaos, fire and smoke, Cdr Hayter stood by his station and lead the evacuation of his crew.

In 1944 LCdr Hayter was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his acts of heroism during the battle. His citation reads in part:

“Lieutenant Commander Hayter directed the evacuation of all men when a torpedo hit exploded the magazine and gasoline storage. Although rapidly becoming affected by asphyxiating gas, he continued to direct evacuation and gave his own mask to an affected seaman. After clearing all compartments, he kept at his duties until overcome. The conduct of Lieutenant Commander Hayter throughout this action reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

The Destroyer Escort USS Hayter was named in his honor and christened by his widow Maurine Hayter, at Charleston Navel Shipyard, Boston MA, on 16 March 1944.

Lieutenant Commander Hubert Hayter was interred at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 12, Site 1964) on March 11, 1948.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45299847/hubert-montgomery-hayter

https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/21269

https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/HUBERT_M._HAYTER,_LCDR,_USN

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WY1S-6T2M

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hayter_(DE-212)

https://archive.org/details/luckybag1924unse/page/144/mode/2up?view=theater

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project, a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

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LCdr Hubert Hayter