John Whiteside Symington, age 99 of Hart, went to be with the Lord November 20, 2015 at Oceana County Medical Care Facility. John was born November 2, 1916 in Detroit, MI. He was the son of the late James and Helen (Whiteside) Symington.
John served our country in WW II, in the 6th Infantry 1st Division. The 6th Infantry Division holds the unchallenged record of consecutive days of continuous combat in the Pacific Theater, 219 days of continuous battle on the island of Luzon, Philippines. At the end of WW II the division's men were the most heavily engaged troops in the US Army. The Men of the 6th infantry fought a total of 306 days of combat. Before the long battle of Luzon, the division fought at the Battle of Maffin Bay, New Guinea, known as the battle for "Lone Tree Hill".
On January 30, 1945 the 6th Infantry Division was part of the Bataan Camp Liberation where 552 Prisoners of War were rescued in Cabanatuan, Philippines.
John was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Victory Medal, and Good Conduct medal.
He was employed as a tool and die machinist and retired from General Motors in Pontiac, MI in 1981. He was the past Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7913 and Service Officer of the Royal Oak American Legion. He was also a member of the Hart VFW.
John lived in Royal Oak, Michigan for fifty years before moving to Hart in 2004. He attended Shelby Road Baptist Church. His favorite pastime was playing golf which he played until June of 2014 and also enjoyed watching the Detroit Tigers.
He is survived by children, James Symington of Brevard, NC, Margaret (Jon) Hemingsen of Hart, and John R. (Suzanne) Symington of Ann Arbor; seven grandchildren, Aimee (George) Husakiwsky of Davidson, NC, Shane Hemingsen of Silver Lake, Elizabeth (James) Hendricks of Farmington, IA, Benjamin (Danielle) Hemingsen of Bonaparte, IA, Katherine (Robert) Waissi of Ann Arbor, Kristen Symington of WA, Spencer Symington of Ann Arbor; former daughter-in-law, Cynthia Symington of Davidson, NC; special cousin, Patricia Hamilton of Amherst, NY and nephew, Wayne (Carole) English; eight great-grandchildren, Emma and Luke Husakiwsky of Davidson, NC, Jessica and Griffen Hemingsen of Goodrich, MI, Kayelyn and Breydn Hendricks of Farmington, IA, James and Jacob Hemingsen of Bonaparte, IA; nephews, William Moxley, Robert Moxley, David Symington, James English and Thomas English and nieces, Marylyn Cantrell and Kaye Calhoun.
He is preceded in death by his parents, wife of sixty-nine years, Elizabeth (English) Symington in April of 2010, brother's Spencer and Robert; and sister, Mary Elizabeth Symington Moxley.
The Funeral Service for Mr. Symington will be Saturday, November 28, 2015, at 11:00 am at the King Funeral Home in Hart with Pastor Mark Baker officiating. Visitation will be Friday, November 27, from 6-8 pm at King Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Hart. Interment will be at White Chapel Memorial Cemetery in Troy, MI. The family requests that any memorials be directed to the Oceana County Animal Shelter, 2185 W. Baseline Rd., Shelby, MI 49455.