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Eighty years ago, a Canton High graduate died at Pearl Harbor on USS Nevada

Canton’s John Luntta, right, died 80 years ago today at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on the USS Nevada, left. (U.S. Navy photos)

Eighty years ago, today, December 7, 1941, on a bright Sunday morning, Canton’s John K. Luntta was killed during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii while serving aboard the battleship USS Nevada. He was the first man in the Farmington Valley to be killed during World War II.

According to town historian David Leff, John Luntta grew up on East Hill where his father J. Einar Luntta, a native of Finland, was a farmer.

Einar, described by the Farmington Valley Herald as “a direct-eyed, genial character,” was also a polisher in the Collins Company knife handling department and served on the Canton Board of Selectmen.

John had left his Canton home shortly after enlisting in 1939, right after turning 18. His brothers Hans and Elmer were also in the Navy at Pearl Harbor during the attack. Their younger brother Eero would join the Navy at age 17 in 1943.

John was one of 2,403 Americans that died on that Sunday morning when Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. He was one of 60 sailors that was killed on Nevada, which was able to get moving during the attack. The ship became a prime target for Japanese planes during the second wave of the attack, trying to sink the ship in the channel to block the harbor.

Eventually, the ship was forced to run themselves around after multiple bombs hit the ship but the gunners on the ship did bring down several Japanese planes.

According to the website Find A Grave.com, when word came of John’s death, Einar was worried that Hans might also have been killed since he was thought to be on the same ship. It wasn’t until late in February that an anxiety-ridden Einar received a letter from Hans indicating that he was well. Elmer, who was on shore duty, also sent a letter that buoyed his father’s spirits.

Einar had last seen his three older boys in August 1941, after about a four year absence. With his youngest son, he traveled to California where John and Hans were on leave from Pearl Harbor. On his return trip he visited Washington where Elmer was attending military radio school, Find A Grave.com shared.

John was interred at Nuuanu Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1941. In 1947, his body was sent home and a military funeral was conducted by the Albert E. Johnson American Legion Post. John K. Luntta is listed among the casualties on a plaque at the National Park Service’s visitor center at Pearl Harbor.

John K. Luntta is buried in the Village Cemetery, Collinsville.

In 2011, a neighbor of the Luntta family interviewed John’s aunt and produced a two-part series on John that was published in the Patch online newsletter.

John Luntta growing up in Canton

John Luntta in the Navy

In 2018, John Luntta, a 1938 graduate of Canton High School, was inducted into Canton High’s Wall of Fame.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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