Bridge dedications upcoming for Medal of Honor recipient and courthouse hero

Apr. 13—By GREG JORDAN

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — Bridge dedications honoring local heroes who put themselves in danger so they could help their community and serve their country are being scheduled for this coming May.

A bridge at the intersection of Courthouse Road and Morrison Drive near Princeton will be dedicated May 1 in memory of George M. Hall, a man who saved the Mercer County Courthouse's records on May 1, 1862, when much of Princeton was burned during the Civil War.

The bridge dedication will be conducted on the 162nd anniversary of Hall's actions, said Mercer County Commission President Bill Archer.

Hall was born into slavery in Dublin, Va. in 1843. He was about 19 years old when he entered the burning courthouse and saved the records in the county clerk's office, according to a resolution passed in June 2018 by the Mercer County Commission.

A prominent Princeton resident, Harrison W. Straley, who had enlisted in the Confederate Army but was deemed too unhealthy for active duty, recounted Hall's actions in his book "Memoirs of Old Princeton."

"He was burned, lacerated and for many weeks could not speak above a whisper, but an ungrateful County Court not only failed to remunerate him, but did not even thank him for his services to the county," Straley wrote in his book.

Hall became a shoemaker after the Civil War and along with his wife, Melinda (Henderson) Hall, raised their family in Mercer County, according to county records found by retired educator Peggy Johnson of Mercer County Schools.

The sponsor of the resolution to dedicate a bridge to Hall was Senator Chandler Swope, R-Mercer.

Another bridge dedication is being planned for the late U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Ira "Junior" Spurrier, a soldier and Bluefield resident who was presented the Medal of Honor during World War II.

The current plan is to dedicate two Interstate 77 highway bridges at mile marker 9 in Bluefield sometime during the week of Memorial Day in Spurrier's honor, Archer said. An exact date and venue in Bluefield were pending Friday. The resolution to name the bridges in Spurrier's honor was sponsored by Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer.

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

Spurrier saw combat in both the Pacific and European Theaters of War. He was sent to the Pacific Theater in 1942. After both of Spurrier's hands were injured on Sept. 21, 1943 during a battle at New Guinea, he was sent back to the United States and recovered from his wounds in New England.

Spurrier still desired to serve his country, and was assigned to the 35th Infantry Division, 134th Infantry Regiment. He 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 against a fortified enemy position near Lay-Saint-Christophe, France.

He was presented 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 in Achain, Spurrier circled to the village's rear and singlehandedly attacked enemy positions during a fierce 24 hour-long battle by using both American and captured German weapons, according to the resolution.

Spurrier forced enemy soldiers to retreat into a barn filled with hay and barrels of fuel. He set this 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 prisoners, earning himself the nickname "Task Force Spurrier."

When Spurrier came home to Bluefield, around 30,000 people welcomed him during a parade, according to the resolution. Like many veterans, Spurrier "fought demons few people other than combat veterans could imagine" when he returned to civilian life.

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. Spurrier's Medal of Honor was later found.

This Medal of Honor, along with a photograph and a painting of Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower congratulating Spurrier for his achievements, are among the many artifacts on display at the Those Who Served War Museum in Princeton.

The museum is located in the Memorial Building near the Mercer County Courthouse.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com