John Thomas Belanger was born June 14, 1927 in Utica, NY to Thomas Belanger and Alice Elvira Fox (1909-1998). In 1930 John lived with his parents, his older sister Antoinette and younger brother Richard (1928-1984) on McBride Ave. in Yorkville, NY. By 1940 the family lived on Whitesboro St. in Utica, NY. His dad was from Canada and was a driver for a local ice company. His mom was from New York. Not much is known about John's childhood. The last Census he was recorded on is the 1940 US Census when we was just 12 years old. He was recorded as being in the 7th grade on that Census.

Before John turned 18 he was in the Navy. He served on the USS Antietam, a newly built "flattop." that was launched on August 20, 1944 from the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was part of her inital crew. His first day aboard the Antietam was the day she was commissioned, January 28, 1945. He was promoted from S2c to S1C sometime after March 1945 but before July 1945. On July 19, 1945 the USS Antietam was off the Hawaiian Islands conducting flight operations, gunnery exercises and damage control drills when a fire broke out on the flight deck. A 5" 38 caliber Anti Aircraft Common projectile exploded prematurely. The explosion caused minor damage to the ship and several aircraft of Squadron VB-89 caught fire. The shrapnel wounded 14 men and killed on man outright. On July 21, 1945 just six weeks after his 18th birthday, and two days after he was wounded, S1c Belanger died of his wounds. That same day his body was flown from the Antietam to Honolulu. (See images below of the two pages from the ship's log documenting these events) 

In October 1947, during the government's body recovery program, S1c Belanger's body is escorted home by Chief Water Tender John C. Wascavage and he was buried with full military honors at Crown Hill Memorial Cemetery in Clinton, NY.

On May 5, 1985 The Sunday Observer-Dispatch of Utica ran an article about Special Mothers that highlighted the life of his mom, Alice who was an active "Gold Star Mother" her entire life. She was 76 years old by then and chairperson of the state convention for Gold Star Mothers being held in Syracuse, NY that year. She held the distinction of being the only Gold Star mother in the United States to have served as commander of an American Legion Post (Post 1276 in Syracuse, NY). That same article reported that John had enlisted just 12 weeks before he was killed. This seems unlikely since he was first aboard the Antietam on January 28, 1945 and was killed July 21, 1945.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/203836305/john_thomas-belanger: accessed December 30, 2025), memorial page for John Thomas Belanger (14 Jun 1927–21 Jul 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 203836305, citing Crown Hill Memorial Park, Clinton, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by Matt (contributor 47205810).

The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; College Park, MD, USA; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; NAID: 594996; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798-2007; Record Group:: 24

“Utica's First War Dead Are Home; Military Escorts with Vets”, Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, October 31, 1947, pg. 20

"World War II War Diaries, 1941-1945" - U - USS ANTIETAM - War Diary, 7/1-31/45 - Pages 3/4 [July 19, 1945 & July 21, 1945] (www.fold3.com)

Year: 1930; Census Place: Yorkville, Oneida, New York; Page: 27B; Enumeration District: 0173; FHL microfilm: 2341357

Year: 1940; Census Place: Utica, Oneida, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02861; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 67-45

Supporting Documents