House of Delegates votes on naming bridges after Medal of Honor recipient

Feb. 20—By GREG JORDAN

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — A resolution to recognize a Medal of Honor recipient by naming two Mercer County bridges after him was unanimously adopted Monday by the West Virginia House of Delegates.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Ira "Junior" Spurrier was presented the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Europe during World War II. Spurrier, who was born in Crestwood, Va., was living in the city of Bluefield when he joined the Army in 1940, according to House Concurrent Resolution 6.

House Concurrent Resolution 6 calls for naming the Southbound and Northbound East River Bridges on Interstate 77 the "U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Ira "Junior" Spurrier Memorial Bridge."

Ninety-six delegates voted to adopt the resolution around 12:02 p.m. Monday. None of the delegates voted against it and four delegates were absent. The resolution will now go to the state Senate and if it is adopted there, it will go to Gov. Jim Justice.

The resolution was introduced by Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, who also serves as Majority Whip for the Republican-controlled House.

The House was in session Monday and Gearheart was not available for comment.

Spurrier fought in both the Pacific and European Theaters of War. He was sent to the Pacific Theater in 1942. After being wounded on both hands while in combat on Sept. 21, 1943, during a battle at New Guinea, he was transported back to the United States and recovered from his wounds in New England. Still desiring to serve his country, he was assigned to the 35th Infantry Division, 134th Infantry Regiment, and was deployed to Europe in 1944, according to the resolution.

In September 1944, Spurrier earned the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart for his leadership during a one-man assault on a heavily fortified enemy position near Lay-Saint-Christophe, France. He earned the Medal of Honor and similar medals from France and Belgium for his gallantry during Company G's advance on the village of Achain, France.

During that battle, Spurrier circled to the village's rear area by himself and singlehandedly attacked enemy positions during a fierce 24 hour-long battle by using both American and captured German weapons and ammunition, according to the resolution. He forced the enemy to retreat into a barn filled with hay and fuel barrels, set the barn on fire, and then killed or captured several German soldiers and one officer.

Over the course of both battles, Spurrier accounted for 36 enemy casualties and 32 captured prisoners, earning the nickname "Task Force Spurrier."

When Spurrier came home, he was welcomed with a parade in Bluefield that drew around 30,000 people, according to the resolution. Like many returning veterans, Spurrier "fought demons few people other than combat veterans could imagine."

Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Spurrier had several encounters with the law and at one point pawned his Medal of Honor so he could pay a bar tab in Huntington, according to his friend, the late Medal of Honor recipient Woody Williams.

"That's incredible news, really," Mercer County Commission President Bill Archer said when he was informed that the House of Delegates had adopted the Spurrier resolution.

Spurrier lived briefly in the area where the bridges which could be named in his honor now stand, Archer said.

Archer said he spoke with Williams, who was Spurrier's friend, about the trials Spurrier endured when he returned to civilian life.

"He admired Junior so much for coming from such humble origins just as Woody had to make such a difference in combat in both theaters of the war," Archer said.

Williams, who was presented the Medal of Honor for his actions on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II, worked at the Veterans Administration in Huntington where veterans would go for renewing benefits and taking care of other tasks. Spurrier would go there when he needed assistance.

"He became very close with Junior," Archer said. "It's just incredible and I appreciate Marty's tenacity. I know it's been an uphill battle and he stayed with it and he's endured my constant pestering and has done so in a very gentlemanly manner."

Spurrier was briefly a pitcher with the Galax Leafs baseball team, then reenlisted in the military and served during the Korean War. After returning to civilian life again, he ran a radio and television repair business and later retired to eastern Tennessee. He passed away on Feb. 25, 1984, and was laid to rest in Mountain Home National Cemetery in Tennessee.

Spurrier's Medal of Honor, a photograph and painting of Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower congratulating Spurrier, and other memorabilia are now on display at the Those Who Served War Museum in Princeton. The museum is located in the Memorial Building near the Mercer County Courthouse in Princeton.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com