David Rosser

David Edwin Rosser (Sept. 2, 1921 – Aug. 26, 1944) was a soldier from Oneida killed in France during World War II.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born Sept. 2, 1921 in Oneida, David E. Rosser was the son of Edwin Jennings Rosser (1893-1949) and Edna Madeline Smith (1899-1985). His father was a sergeant in the U.S. Army. He was an only child.

After graduating high school, David attended the University of Tennessee School of Business Administration and was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He worked at the Tennessee Theater in Knoxville, Tenn., and later for the Tennessee Valley Authority. When he registered for the draft, he lived in Smoke Mount, N.C. His parents had left Scott County and lived in Oak Ridge by the start of the war.

World War II

2Lt. Rosser enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He served in the European theater of the War, arriving overseas in March 1944. He was killed on July 27, 1944 in France. The 23rd Infantry landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 7, 1944 and played a key role in the capture of Brest.

Aftermath

2Lt. Rosser was initially interred at La Cambe Cemetery in Isigny, France. He was reburied at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. He has a cenotaph at Marcum Cemetery in Oneida, where his parents are buried.

He received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. He is listed on the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, and the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.