From These Roots

John Daniel Carter, Jr. was born on January 18, 1917, in Columbia, South Carolina, to John David Carter, Sr., and Estelle Powell Tison Carter. His father worked in sales and insurance, while his mother was an educator and a 1908 graduate of Greenville Women’s College (now part of Furman University). During John’s infancy, the family relocated to Jasper County, South Carolina, and later settled in Beaufort County.

Raised in a faith-centered home, John was active in his church and participated in the Boy Scouts. As a young man, he developed a wide range of interests, including woodworking, sailing, featherweight boxing, and repairing radios. He graduated from Beaufort High School in 1932 and, two years later, enrolled at North Greenville Junior College and Baptist Academy as a member of its inaugural college class. An outstanding student, he became the institution’s first college valedictorian upon graduating in 1936. He was subsequently awarded a scholarship to Furman University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1938. His classmates noted his remarkable ability to read French fluently, a skill he attributed to his studies at North Greenville.

Following college, John began working for Duke Power Company while also enrolling in the Furman–CAA Secondary Civilian Pilot Training Program. In early 1941, he was accepted into the Naval Aviation Cadet Training School in Pensacola, Florida. During his training, he met Constance Daniels, whom he married later that year. Upon completing his training, John was assigned to an inshore patrol squadron at Floyd Bennett Field in New York, where he served for fourteen months.

Throughout much of the United States’ involvement in World War II, John flew with an anti-submarine patrol squadron in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. For his service, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and a Gold Star in recognition of his attack on enemy midget submarines and his meritorious achievement in aerial flight operations in the Southwest Pacific. He continued his naval career after the war as a lieutenant commander, serving with the Naval Air Training Command in Pensacola. In 1947, he was assigned to Naval Air Station Argentia in Newfoundland.

With the onset of the Korean War, John served on the staff of Commander Carrier Division 5, which operated aboard the USS Yorktown, USS Oriskany, and USS Wasp. At the conclusion of the conflict, he was promoted to commander. In 1955, he returned to Pensacola with the Naval Air Training Command. Prior to his retirement from military service in 1960, he also served as Operations Officer and Navigator aboard the USS Orcacas, completed a tour of duty in Washington, D.C., and further distinguished himself through his service. In May 1960, he returned to North Greenville Junior College to deliver the commencement address.

After retiring, John and his family settled in Pensacola Beach, Florida, where he remained for the rest of his life. He continued to enjoy woodworking and gardening and played an active role in his community as a charter member and the first chief of the Pensacola Beach Volunteer Fire Department. His first wife, Constance, passed away in 1974; together they had four daughters and one son. In 1976, he married Gloria Nall, gaining two stepdaughters.

John Daniel Carter, Jr. passed away on June 25, 1991, and was laid to rest at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida.