Junior Lawson

Jasper “Junior” Lawson Jr. (Nov. 11, 1924 – March 24, 1945) was a soldier from Huntsville who was killed in action during World War II.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born Nov. 11, 1924, Junior Lawson was the son of Jasper “Jape” Lawson (1904-1995) and Maude Lee Coker (1907-1986) of Huntsville. The family was from the Cordell or Bull Creek area south of Huntsville, where the Lawson family roots run deep, dating back to Revolutionary War veteran David Lawson. David Lawson, who moved to present-day Scott County after the Revolutionary War with his brothers, Randolph Lawson and John Lawson, was Junior Lawson’s second-great-grandfather.

Junior’s siblings included Archie Lawson (1926-1980), James Russell Lawson (1928-1976), Verldon Lawson (1930-2010), Porter Lawson (1933-2007), Jana Mae Byrd (1935-2003), Wanda Faye Shadoan (1937-2013), Geraldine Hall (1941-2015) and Linda Lou Hill (1943-2019).

When Junior registered for the draft, he and his family lived at Gennett, which was the post office near Smokey Junction. He worked for the W.M. Ritter Lumber Company at New River.

World War II

PFC Lawson enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 27, 1944 and was assigned to the 10th Infantry Regiment. He fought in the European theater of World War II and was killed in action on March 24, 1945 in the Rhine Valley in Germany.

His commanding officer, Col. Robert P. Bell, wrote to his father: “Private First Class Lawson was killed in action while his platoon was in the attack on Grossgerau, Germany. He was hit and instantly killed by small arms fire. I can assure that everything that human courage and medical knowledge can offer is done for our men when they are ministered.”

Aftermath

PFC Lawson was awarded the Purple Heart. He was originally interred at an American military cemetery in Stromberg, Germany. However, his remains were later returned to Scott County and he was buried at Byrges Creek Cemetery at Cordell.

He is listed on the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, and the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.