Andrew Chambers

Andrew “Byron” Chambers (Aug. 19, 1918 – April 22, 1945) was a soldier from Scott County who was killed during World War II.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born Aug. 19, 1918, Andrew Byron Chambers was the son of James Bailey Chambers (1889-1963) and Ethel Loveland (1888-1982). His siblings included Dorothy Dawson (1916-2004) and James Sherrill “Dick” Chambers (1924-2009).

Byron was born in Scott County and his family had deep roots here. On the Chambers side, his fifth-great-grandfather was Revolutionary War veteran William Chambers, who moved to present-day Scott County and settled on Buffalo Creek. He was also a fifth-great-grandson of Revolutionary War veteran Randolph Lawson of Paint Rock Creek. He was also descended from Revolutionary War veterans Abraham Goad and Tobias Phillips, the latter of which did not move here but was the forefather of the Phillips family of Bull Creek.

Although he would later enter the service in Fentress County, the family still lived in Oneida in 1935, and didn’t move to Jamestown until sometime between 1935 and 1940. When he registered for the draft in 1940, he worked for the O&W Railroad.

World War II

PFC Chambers enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 15, 1942 at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. He was assigned to Co. I, 473rd Infantry Regiment and fought in the European theater of World War II.

He was killed on April 22, 1945, near Camparola, Italy, during the Battle of the Po Valley. During this time, the 473rd Infantry was attached to the 92nd Infantry Division on the Italian front and was pressing toward Genoa.

Aftermath

PFC Chambers’ body was returned to Tennessee in December 1948. A funeral service was held at Jamestown Methodist Church on Dec. 5, 1948, and he was buried at Taylor Place Cemetery between Jamestown and Allardt.

He received the Purple Heart and is listed on the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville. He is not listed on either of the two veterans memorials in Scott County.