Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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November 24, 2011

War hero’s medals found

BILL ARCHER Bluefield Daily Telegraph

GRANVILLE — The long lost medals of Staff Sgt. James I. “Junior” Spurrier, Jr. — including the Congressional Medal of Honor — have been found. Spurrier, who was known as the “One Man Army,” for his single-handed capture of the town of Achain, France, received the Medal of Honor from General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The medals have been lost for several decades.

Craig Corkrean, chief of police of Granville, W.Va., near Morgantown, discovered the medals about two weeks ago when he was looking into a safe that contained his father’s personal effects.

“My dad died in 2006,” Corkrean said. “He had kept a safe in his closet, and after his death, I got a locksmith to open it so I could get some papers out of it. It is too big to be moved. I didn’t really look at what was inside at that time, but I left the door ajar.”

About two weeks ago, he looked inside the safe again and came across a Bronze Star, a combat infantryman’s badge and the Medal of Honor. “My grandfather served in World War II, but I already had his medal,” Corkrean said. “I brought them to work with me on Tuesday, and showed them to Sgt. Matt Allen. He’s an Army veteran and works with veterans’ issues up here. He looked on the back of the Medal of Honor and saw the name: ‘Staff Sgt. Spurrier’ etched on the back.

“He looked on line and searched for more information about him, and we did a news story with the local television station (WBOY-TV 12, Clarksburg) last night,” Corkrean said. “We were hoping that maybe a member of his family would see it and contact us about it.”

Allen saw articles on the Internet about Spurrier, called and emailed the Bluefield Daily Telegraph in an effort to reach Spurrier’s family members. “My dad survived the Normandy invasion,” Allen said. “I have two uncles and two brothers who served in Vietnam. I always honor veterans, and when I meet a veteran of any war, I welcome them home. In my mind, Junior Spurrier is still a hero.”

Tony Whitlow, president of the For Those Who Served Museum in the Mercer County War Memorial in Princeton has been searching for Spurrier’s medal for several years. “We wanted to get it to include in the display we have honoring Junior,” Whitlow said. “When we dedicated the display a few years ago, we got permission from Washington, D.C., to display a replica of the medal. We made contact with a living recipient of the Medal of Honor who now lives in Florida who was going to use his contacts in the FBI to help search for his medal.”

Whitlow said he has heard several different stories about where and when the medal disappeared. “None of that matters,” he said. “I just can’t believe that someone has found Junior’s medals. This has made my Thanksgiving. I thought we never would have found this.”

Corkrean grew up in White Sulphur Springs. He graduated from Greenbrier East High School, earned an associates degree at Bluefield State College and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Fairmont University before entering law enforcement work. He said his father never talked about the medals, although he worked as an ABC commissioner in southern West Virginia and his territory included the Athens and Princeton area. He was also an avid antique collector and visited shops throughout the region.

Whitlow contacted Spurrier’s former wife, Kathy Cox, who now lives in Charlestown, as well as Spurrier’s oldest surviving sister, Lee Sneed who lives in Telford, Tenn., both of whom recommended that the medal should go to the museum. Corkrean is scheduled to travel to Princeton on Friday, Dec. 2, to present the medal to the museum. Whitlow said he is organizing a brief ceremony for the presentation for 2 p.m.

“I still can’t believe it,” Whitlow said. “To have his real medal as part of our exhibit ... Oh man! This is just something I never thought would happen. I can’t thank Junior’s family, Chief Corkrean and Sgt. Allen enough for this donation to the museum. I’t’s just amazing.”

Word of the discovery traveled quickly through the military community. Ed Simmons of Bluefield called his close friend, Gary Littrell, past president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society who had been working on a search for the medal.

“The people who Gary was working with kept coming up blank,” Simmons said. “He couldn’t believe it had been found. This has been a very emotional day for all of us.”

James Graff, past president of the 35th Infantry Division, contacted his daughter, Kathy Esker, who plans to attend the ceremony in Princeton. He also contacted another of Spurrier’s sisters, Hope Mills, who plans to attend as well.

“I still can’t believe that someone has found Junior Spurrier’s medals,” Graff said. “As it stands right now, the 35th Infantry will be represented when they’re returned.”

Whitlow said the public is invited to attend the ceremony on Dec. 2.

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

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