The USS Kalinin Bay, also known as the “Big K”, was where Gunter spent his last days. Reports from the National Archives and Records Administration show that Gunter died on the USS Kalinin Bay. Reports from the Navy show that Gunter died along with four other men. At the time of the men's death, the USS Kalinin Bay was in a battle called the Battle Off Samar, in which five men died on the USS Kalinin Bay, making that battle likely to have been when Gunter was killed. The battle is called one of the most memorable in US Naval History, and there are many reports of the fighting from several ships. Gunter was given a Purple Heart for his service and is memorialized in the Manila American Cemetery as well as Magnolia Cemetery in Lucedale (shown to the right).
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