Resolution naming bridge after Junior Spurrier adopted by lawmakers

Mar. 5—By GREG JORDAN

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — A resolution asking West Virginia's Department of Highways to name two Mercer County bridges after a Medal of Honor recipient has been adopted by the State Senate, clearing its way for Gov. Jim Justice's signature.

The state Senate adopted the resolution by voice vote, according to legislative status reports.

Delegate and House Majority Whip Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, the sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 6, said Monday that rules were suspended in the Senate and it has passed. The State House of Delegates adopted the resolution on Feb. 19 and sent it on to the Senate.

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."

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Ira "Junior" Spurrier earned the Medal of Honor for his heroic 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.

The resolution 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."

Spurrier saw combat in both the Pacific and European Theaters of War. He was sent to the Pacific Theater in 1942. After being wounded on both hands 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. 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 and attacked enemy positions singlehandedly during a fierce 24 hour-long battle by using both American and captured German weapons, according to the resolution.

He forced the enemy to retreat into a barn filled with hay and barrels of fuel.

Spurrier 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 prisoners, earning himself the nickname "Task Force Spurrier."

When Spurrier came home, about 30,000 people welcomed him during a Bluefield parade, 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.

Spurrier lived briefly near the bridges which will be named in his honor now stand, Mercer County Commission President Bill Archer said.

Archer said he spoke with Woody Williams, who was Spurrier's friend, about the problems Spurrier had to endure after he came home from the war.

"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.

Spurrier's Medal of Honor, a photograph and a 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.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com