Jack Riden Peters

After American and British troops vanquished the Third Reich’s Afrika Korps in Tunisia, North Africa during spring 1943, the objective of the Allied offensive was to cross the Mediterranean and liberate Italy from the Nazis. The first step was the invasion of Sicily which began with the amphibious Battle of Gela on July 10, 1943.

The operation included eight American destroyers in a task force of 601 ships to support General George S. Patton’s Seventh U.S. Army. The USS Maddox (DD-622) was the only destroyer that was lost in the battle and included the death of Lewistown native Jack R. Peters.

Jack Riden Peters was born on May 5, 1922 in Lewistown to Charles F. and Helen Peters. His mother and father were natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. Peters had one older sister, Elizabeth (Betty). His father supported the household as a barber with his own shop. Sister Betty worked as a dental assistant.

Peters was raised in Lewistown. He attended Lewistown High School with the class of 1940 and participated on the yearbook staff and, for two years, on the football team. He took a vocational course of study. Peters registered for the draft in Lewistown on June 30, 1942. He was single and worked for Montgomery Ward.

Peters enlisted in the Navy Reserve in Philadelphia on Sept. 22, 1942. By mid-December, the Apprentice Seaman reported from the Receiving Station, Brooklyn, New York, to serve on the destroyer USS Maddox (DD-622). After her shakedown cruise, Maddox commenced escort duties safeguarding fleet oilers between Norfolk, Virginia and the petroleum centers of Galveston, Texas and Aruba. The destroyer then screened trans-Atlantic convoys between the East Coast and North Africa. On Jan. 15, 1943, Peters was promoted aboard the Maddox to Seaman Second Class.

Peters and the Maddox departed Norfolk for Oran, Algeria on June 8, 1943 to join Task Force 81 in the assault force for the invasion of Sicily. As the assault troops opened the amphibious Battle of Gela on July 10, 1943, the Maddox was sixteen miles offshore on solo anti-submarine patrol. USS Maddox was attacked by a German Junkers Ju 88 torpedo bomber of KG 54 and a squadron of Italian Ju 87 Stuka of the Regia Aeronautica. One of the bombs exploded Maddox’s aft magazine, causing the destroyer to roll over and to sink within two minutes.

Peters was killed in action on July 11, 1943 when the USS Maddox was sunk by an Axis air attack in the Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea. He was one of 210 crew members lost on the USS Maddox. Seventy-four of the destroyer’s crew survived.

Peters was listed as missing in action for a year. His remains were never recovered. Peters was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, Nettuno, Italy. Peters posthumously received the Purple Heart.

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This article was prepared for the Lewistown Sentinel by Stories Behind the Stars. The non-profit organization is dedicated to honoring all 421,000 fallen Americans from World War II, including 31,000 from Pennsylvania. To volunteer or to get more information, contact Kathy Harmon at kharmon@storiesbehindthestars.org or visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org.