Lonus Ashburn

Lonus Alfred Ashburn (Abt. 1926 – May 12, 1945) was a soldier from Glenmary who was killed in action in World War II.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born in Turmbull County, Oh., Lonus Ashburn was the son of William A. Ashburn and Martha Anna Hamby.

His mother was originally from Morgan County. Following the death of William in 1932 (he died in an automobile accident in Stark, Oh.), she moved her family back to Tennessee during Lonus’s childhood. They lived on U.S. Highway 27 in Glenmary. She remarried to James Harlan Martin, a Glenmary native who was held captive by the Germans during World War II.

Lonus’s siblings included Lewis Ashburn, James F. Ashburn (1921-1972), Lucille Gunter (1928-2015), Margie Louise Meadows (1932-1989), and Bill Ivory Martin (1939-1996).

Like Lonus and their stepfather, Lewis served in WWII and fought in Germany. Their half-brother, Bill Martin, was a veteran of the Vietnam War.

World War II

PFC Ashburn enrolled in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 136th Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division. He fought in the Pacific theater of the war.

He was killed on May 12, 1945 as his division was breaking up the last organized resistance of the Japanese on the Island of Luzon in the Philippines. He is listed on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Aftermath

PFC Ashburn is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida, the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, and the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.