PFC Jack Wheaton (ASN 39906571) was born on May 21, 1921 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. His father, William, and his mother, Emma Elizabeth Staples, were both born and raised in Coalville, Utah. His father worked for the Union Pacific Rairoad. Jack had two older brothers, three older sisters, and three younger sisters. His oldest sister, Marjorie, died when Jack was 11 years old.

Jack moved with his family to Coalville, Utah in 1926 when he was very young. He attended North Summit High School in Coalville. After leaving school, Jack worked as a mechanic and truck driver in Moore’s Garage in Coalville. His father died in 1941 and Jack lived with his mother in Coalville. On February 16, 1942 he received his draft card.

On January 7, 1943 Jack received his induction notice. On January 14, 1943 he enlisted the US Army at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jack conducted his basic training at Jefferson Barracks in Lemay, Missouri. As part of the Army Air Corps he next did training at Brookley Air Base in Mobile, Alabama. His next training was at Dyers Army Airbase in Tennessee, home of the 853rd Aviation Engineer Battalion. As part of the 853rd Jack was trained to build heavy-duty airbases and related facilities from the ground up utilizing bulldozers, tractors, and scrapers.

On October 3, 1943 the 853rd Engineers left for the coast of North Africa. They arrived at Oran, Algeria on October 23, 1943. The 853rd Engineers were going to be part of a convoy going through the Suez Canal to India. Their assignment was to build several runways for bombers from the 20th Air Force in the Assam region of India to support missions flown “over the hump” into China and Burma.

On November 25, 1943 the 853rd Engineer Battalion boarded the HMT Rhona troop transfer vessel. The Rhona and three other troop transports left Oran at 12:30 hrs to intercept Convoy KMF 26, which was passing through the Mediterranean from England to Alexandria. They joined the convoy about three hours later.

At 16:30 hrs on November 26th the convoy was attacked off the coast of Bougie, Algeria by 14 Luftwaffe heavy bombers and escort fighter planes, followed by 6-9 torpedo bombers. At 17:15 hrs the HMT Rhona was hit by a radio-controlled, rocket-propelled glide bomb. The bomb hit the Rhona on her port side in the engine room and the number six troop deck. About 400 men were killed within a few minutes of the attack. The rest of the men and crew were scrambling to get to the lifeboats and life rafts, all the while being strafed by enemy aircraft. At about 18:45 the HMT Rhona sunk. Rescue operations had to be conducted at night under anti-aircraft cover. Rescue operations continued until 02:15 the next morning.

PFC Jack Wheaton survived the initial blast but he had died before being rescued, either from his injuries or drowning. A total of 819 survivors were rescued and taken to Philippeville, Algeria. Of the 1,138 men who were killed, 1,015 were US personnel. The 853rd Engineer Battalion had been decimated by losing 62% of their men. The HMT Rhona was the only vessel casualty from the convoy during the attack.

The sinking of the Rhona was the largest loss of US soldiers at sea due to an enemy attack incident during WWII. At the time, information about the Rhona was not immediately forthcoming. Initially it was implied that a submarine caused the sinking. The incident remained classified because the War Department did not want the Germans to know the extent of the damage caused by the world’s first smart bomb. It wasn’t until 1967 after the passing of the Freedom of Information Act that the details of the radio-controlled bomb being used was released.

PFC Jack Wheaton was one of 14 servicemen with Utah ties who died during the sinking of the HMT Rhona. His remains were returned to Utah and he was laid to rest on May 22, 1949 at the Coalville Cemetery in Coalville, Utah. He was survived by his mother, and his seven siblings. His older brother, William Oscar, was a Cpl. in the USAAF during WWII. He also had four brothers-in-law who served in the military during WWII.

Sources:

1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970
Utah, Military Records, 1861-1970
Utah, Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah,1847-1966
++https://www.fold3.com/record/91291215-jack-wheaton?xid=1945++
++https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63734985/morgan-county-news/?xid=637++
++https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63735758/obituary-for-wheaton-wude/?xid=637++
++https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63734230/obituary-for-pfc-jack-wheaton-aged-22/?xid=637++
++https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63735513/obituary-for-jack-wheaton/?xid=637++
++https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63735440/obituary-for-pfc-jack-wheaton/?xid=637++
https://www.summitcounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/2067/Pvt-1st-Class-Jack-Wheaton-PDF?bidId=
https://apnews.com/article/2d7bfd5f91f54ec59e7f2fe00d3fa30d
http://www.853rdengineerbattalion.org/
https://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/09/07/Many-missing-from-1943-sinking-of-Rohna-in-WWII/stories/201409070273
http://russpickett.com/history/rohna.htm
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:853rd_Aviation_Engineer_Battalion%2C_United_States_Army%2C_World_War_II

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.