Today our walk was dedicated in honor of:
Army PVT James D. King, Age 23 of Crossville, TN
KIA Jan 11, 1945 during WWII
He was assigned to 71st Infantry Regiment, 44th Infantry Division
A telegram from the War Department was received Jan. 26, 1945 by Mrs. Laura King, telling her that her son, Pvt. James Dewey King, age 23 years, had died in France, Jan. 11, 1945. He was wounded on Jan. 1st while in battle and died from wounds received then. His mother received a telegram on Jan. 14th telling her of his wounds.
Pvt. King, called Jay by his family and friends, was born July 18, 1922 in Cumberland County, where he spent most of his life. He is the son of Henry and Laura (Burgess) King, who reside on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Garrison. After Pvt. King entered the service he was married to Miss Licile Lewis, of Hamlet, North Carolina. A little daughter, Peggy Jean, now 18 months, was born to them.
Pvt. King entered the service Oct. 20, 1940 and was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for his first training. For other training he was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Camp Kelmer in New Jersey, Camp Upton in New York, Fort Meade in Maryland, then back to New York, where he sailed for France on Nov. 1st, 1944. As a very Young boy, he was honest and quiet, and thoughtful and never asked for anything in return. He loves machines and of others, always ready to lend a helping hand wherever he could, handled them well, with a very good knowledge of why they would or would not run. He was loved in his home and community and will be forever missed.
Awards: Purple Heart
He is buried in Baker’s Chapel Cemetery
We had a great 11.08 Mile walk today. We first walked to the Cumberland County Fairgrounds to Walk/Run in the Creative Compassion’s Stars & Stripes 5K Walk/Run. What a great event to start our day. Great turn out and the weather was just right. It was great meeting and talking with a lot of people at the event. We then walked back to the house for a short time and then headed out again. We walked by Holiday Lake and headed up towards town where we visited with several people before presenting colors for the Car show uptown.
We walked around and met several people. We then stopped in at the War Memorial Park where we read PVT King’s name up on the Memorial Wall. Then we headed home. It was an amazing day. I want to thank everyone for helping me honor this great hero. I want to thank everyone who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor this hero. We had 123 honks today. It was amazing. Thank you.
Army PVT James D. King will not be forgotten !
