John Elliott Weyandt was born April 18, 1921 in Littleton, Arapahoe, Colorado to Ford Parsons Weyandt (1888-1946) and Florence Mabel (Bunt) Weyandt (1816-1963). Ford and Mabel had four children.

The family moved to Palisade, then to Berthoud and finally to Fort Collins in 1931. John attended and graduated from Fort Collins High School. He carried for the Express Courier for about three years, was a popular student and was interested in vocal music which resulted in his participation in virtually all musical and dramatic productions while in high school and college. He attended the University of Denver where he was working towards earning his Master’s Degree. John was active in dramatics in college and was a member of Sigma Chi, Phi Epsilon Pi, Tau Kappa Alpha and the National Collegiate Players. He taught speech class at the University the summer of 1942 and was a member of the United Brethren Church.

On February 16, 1942 he registered for the draft in Denver and was described as 6’, 150 with light complexion, brown hair and blue eyes. His father was listed as his contact. He entered the US Navy/Navy Reserve in August 1942.

In November 1942 he served as a Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class with the 2nd Base Depot Detachment, 1st MAC (Marine Amphibious Corps), 2nd Marine Division.

On February 27, 1943 John was killed in a tank accident while on maneuvers in New Zealand and was buried in an old English cemetery near Wellington, New Zealand. His remains were sent back to Denver, arriving October 26, 1947. He was laid to rest in the Littleton Cemetery in Littleton, Colorado October 27, 1947. He was survived by his mother, two sisters and one brother. His father died in an auto/train accident in 1946.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3.