Tribute to John Junior Neff
Branch of Service: US Navy
Specialty: Pharmacist's Mate
Ship/Station: LST 730, Great Lakes Naval Hospital
John Junior Neff was born July 22, 1922, in Lyndon, Kansas. He
was the oldest of four children and the only son born to Bertha Bryden and John
Neff . In June, 1941, John graduated from Osage City
High School at the age of 17. He studied for one year at Newman Hospital
in Emporia. Then in August of 1942, with
World War II underway, he enlisted in the Navy
and with letters from the doctors at Newman Hospital, he was given the rank of
Pharmacist Mate 3rd Class. Boot camp was in
Illinois at the Great
Lakes Naval Station. After boot camp, John was assigned to the Great
Lakes Naval Hospital in Great Lakes, Illinois. He served as a nurse and
operating technician for twelve months.
In April, 1943, John was assigned as PHM 2nd Class on LST
730, to be berthed at Solomon Islands,
Maryland. LST (Landing Ship Tank) was the
military designation for a certain type of naval vessel created during World War
II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of
vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore.
On June 12, 1943, John Neff married his
high school sweetheart Barbara Lucille Nevelle
in their home town of Osage City, Kansas, and they honeymooned in Chicago,
Illinois. Then John returned to duty.
John Neff went to Pittsburg while LST 730 was built and
commissioned. It took a period of over a year. Neff’s new ship carried a
complement of 8-10 officers and 89-100 enlisted men. For protection, LST 730
had one single 3"/50 gun mount, eight 40mm guns, and twelve 20mm guns.
When completed, his ship traveled to
New Orleans in order to pick up supplies and meet up with the 52nd group
leaving for England and the Normandy invasion. However, the ship’s prop was
damaged along the way forcing the ship into dry dock, missing their overseas
connection. Following dry dock, LST 730 was instead sent to South
Chesapeake Bay as a training ship.
The primary role of a Pharmacists’ Mate aboard a LST was to
provide initial medical care for the crew. Because LST 730 was functioning as a
training ship off the east coast of the US, it routinely sailed without other
medical assistance nearby. John Neff was often called on to provide medical
care well beyond his primary training.
Following his discharge from the Navy on June 6, 1945, John
enrolled at Washburn College. John’s oldest daughter Susan Carol Neff was born
October 23, 1944, while he was still in the US Navy.
His second daughter, Nancy Irene was born on September
12, 1947. In the fall of 1948, the family moved to Concordia, Kansas, for
John’s first teaching position. In 1951, John taught at
Topeka High School.
The Neff family moved to southern California in the fall of
1956, with John teaching science at Bellflower High
School. He then moved to a position in Norwalk, California, teaching
anatomy and physiology at Cerritos Junior
College. Before retiring, he was instrumental in establishing a nursing program
at the junior college. He now resides in Spring Valley, California, at Mount
Miguel Covenant Village.
Submitted by Tim Johnson (nephew)
Updated 4/12/10