SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 21

(By Senators Swope, Beach, Jeffries, Lindsay, Romano, Stollings, Woelfel, and Unger)

[Introduced February 5, 2020]

Requesting the Division of Highways name bridge numbers 28-077/00-002.95 (NB-SB) (28A176, 28A113), locally known as NB-SB East River bridges, carrying Interstate 77 over the East River, NS RR, and County 38/5 in Mercer County, the “U.S. Army SSG James ‘Junior’ Spurrier Memorial Bridge”.

Whereas, James “Junior” Spurrier was born on December 14, 1922, in Russell County, Virginia, and later came to live in Bluefield, West Virginia, where he attended local schools before leaving to assist his family on their farm; and

Whereas, Prior to his enlistment in the Army, James “Junior” Spurrier was an employee of the then-named Norfolk and Western Railway Company; and

Whereas, After the death of his mother in the summer of 1940, James “Junior” Spurrier enlisted in the United States Army; and

Whereas, James “Junior” Spurrier initially entered combat in the Pacific Theater where he served in the Army infantry; and

Whereas, After James “Junior” Spurrier was injured in New Guinea, he was returned to the United States for treatment and, when he was again deemed fit for duty, he returned for service, at his own request, to Europe. He distinguished himself as part of the 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, and was promoted to the position of Staff Sergeant in 1944; and

Whereas, On September 16, 1944, near Lay-Saint-Christophe, France, SSG James “Junior” Spurrier spearheaded an assault upon a strongly defended hill position and he was able to kill more than 12 enemy soldiers and to force the surrender of 22 others; and

Whereas, On November 13, 1944, SSG James “Junior” Spurrier singlehandedly attacked and fought Germans occupying the village of Achain, France, repeatedly returning to his company’s command post with prisoners, and replenishing his ammunition from both American and enemy weapons to continue his attack on the occupied enemy forces. When the commanding officer learned that SSG James “Junior” Spurrier was engaging the enemy on one side of the village while the rest of the company was preparing to attack from the opposite side, he issued an unusual and memorable order, “Attack Achain! Company G from the east and Spurrier from the west.”; and

Whereas, As a result of his “. . . conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy at Achain,” SSG James “Junior” Spurrier was presented with this country’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor; and

Whereas, At the conclusion of World War II, SSG James “Junior” Spurrier was one of the most decorated soldiers of that war, having received in addition to the Medal of Honor, two Purple Heart decorations, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit Medal, and the Bronze Star Medal with one “V” device and one oak leaf cluster. In addition, the countries of France and Belgium have each awarded him with a Croix de guerre for his bravery and military virtue in fighting for the Allies; and

Whereas, SSG James “Junior” Spurrier has also been honored with a memorial dedicated to him in 2006 in the “Those Who Served Museum” in Mercer County, West Virginia, and has been remembered in speeches and cited as the “one man army” and the “best fighting soldier of World War II”; and

Whereas, SSG James “Junior” Spurrier passed away on February 25, 1984, and is interred in the Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee; and

Whereas, It is fitting that an enduring memorial be established to commemorate SSG James “Junior” Spurrier and his contributions to our state and country; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name bridge numbers 28-077/00-002.95 (NB-SB) (28A176, 28A113), locally known as NB-SB East River bridges, carrying Interstate 77 over the East River, NS RR, and County 38/5 in Mercer County, the “U.S. Army SSG James ‘Junior’ Spurrier Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the bridge as the “U.S. Army SSG James ‘Junior’ Spurrier Memorial Bridge”, and that these signs also bear the notation “Medal of Honor Recipient”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.