Veterans Among Us: Terry Hunt

Mount Gilead, Ohio is recognized as being the geographic center of Ohio. Established in 1832, the town began to flourish eight years after European settlers came to the region. Terry Hunt of Oxford grew up in Mt. Gilead. His parents were Ohio Wesleyan grads who emphasized the importance of a college education. Hunt entered Miami University as a freshman in 1958. 

Hunt said he was not interested in the university’s Reserve Officers' Training Corps  (ROTC) program, but a number of his fraternity brothers were in the ROTC. Hunt graduated from Miami in 1962 and went to medical school at Ohio State. He graduated from the OSU College of Medicine in 1966 and then completed an internship at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee for a year.

The Vietnam War loomed over many young men at this point, and Hunt knew that he would eventually have to serve. So, he volunteered for naval service. In 1967, he was assigned to the Charleston Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. It was there that he first encountered wounded individuals from the war. 

Hunt’s first ship assignment was to the USS Holland, A-S32 in July, 1968. He served as a medical officer on the ship. The USS Holland was a Hunley-class submarine tender built specifically to service fleet ballistic missile submarines. The USS Holland was commissioned in September 1963. Hunt remained connected to submarines for the entirety of his naval career.

“I didn’t learn a lot of medicine in my time on the ship because I was dealing with fairly healthy people,” Hunt said. “But friendships that began in Charleston, and on the ship, are still with me today.”

“My tour in the Navy also allowed me and my family to see parts of the world that none of us would ever have seen, otherwise,” Hunt said.

Hunt extended his time in the Navy for a year, with the caveat that the Navy would allow his family to be with him and that the Navy would not transfer him for the remainder of his enlistment.

During this time, Hunt’s family got to live at the naval base in Rota, Spain.

Hunt Naval enlistment was completed in 1970, but he had never completed his medical residency. He completed this residency in Akron, Ohio at the Akron City Hospital. It had to be arranged to complete his residency over an extended period of time due to his deployment on the USS Holland.

Hunt was looking for a place to practice medicine after his residency. His former fraternity brothers and Naval friends played a big part in shaping his future at this point. All of them were doctors and lived in Oxford. They convinced Hunt that he also needed to come back to Oxford to help build the medical community in the area. In 1973, Hunt moved his family to Oxford and began his post-Navy medical career. In 1975, the Oxford Internal Medicine group was founded by Hunt. He started this group as its sole practitioner.

Hunt retired in 2018, and Oxford Internal Medicine continues to serve the greater Oxford community as a part of the TriHealth network.

“If you make a couple of good friends in life, you’re lucky. The Navy did this for me,” Hunt said of his time in the Navy.

One of these Navy friends was Anthony (Tony) Colucci. He was a college friend and fraternity brother of Hunt at Miami. Colucci retired as a Navy captain. As a civilian, Hunt was able to ride with Colucci on his last Naval cruise. Also, Colucci and Hunt served together in Charleston, South Carolina early in their Naval careers.

Many years later, it was Hunt’s grandson who made a trip to Arlington National Cemetery and took a photo of Colucci’s headstone. The photo was sent back to Hunt as a reminder of one of the many Navy friendships that had shaped his life of duty, service and care for others.

In 2017, then Navy Surgeon General Forrest Faison said, “Our best military doctors embody good spirits. They are humble, dedicated, resilient and committed to service.”

This quote speaks of military doctors, but it also speaks about millions of men and women, past and present, who understand commitment to the country. As we celebrate our country’s birthday, let’s not forget them.

Lee Fisher is a Miami graduate, resident of Oxford, Ohio and a Vietnam War veteran.