Burrough’s Battery Transports Lost World War II Medal Recipient

Originally published March 2016 · p. 16

Burrough’s Battery Transports Lost World War II Medal Recipient WEST KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Burroughs’ Battery horse-drawn field artillery, which portrays U.S. and C.S. artillery, helped honor a World War II Medal of Honor recipient whose remains were recovered last year. The unit participated in what commander Steve Cameron called “one of the most gratifying acts of my 45 years on this earth.” On Sept. 27 the unit’s six-horse team and caisson carried the remains of 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr. to his final resting place at Berry Highland Memorial Cemetery. Bonnyman grew up in Knoxville. He was married with three daughters and owned a copper mine in New Mexico when World War II came. Bonnyman was 31 and exempt from military service because the copper he produced was a vital material. Nevertheless, he enlisted in the Marine Corps as a private. He received a battlefield commission as second lieutenant on Guadalcanal for service with a pioneer unit. Bonnyman died at age 33 on Nov. 22, 1943, on the South Pacific atoll of Tarawa, leading an assault on a Japanese bunker. He was Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion Shore Party, 8th Marines, 2d Marine Division. The Medal of Honor was presented to his family in 1947. The citation notes Bonnyman’s “fighting spirit, unrelenting aggressiveness and forceful (Jeff Shifflet) leadership throughout 3 days of unremitting, violent battle….” In 1946, about half of the more than 1,200 American remains were recovered. Decades later the private nonprofit History Flight Inc. entered the search for the rest. Grandson Clay Bonnyman Evans of Colorado was with the team when it found the missing Marine grave with Bonnyman and 35 other remains last May.

After the burial service was publicized, Burrough’s Battery offered its caisson. The procession included a Marine Honor Guard, Marine band and other personnel, and the caisson detachment with eight men and seven horses. Burrough’s Battery is a horsedrawn field artillery unit whose equipment is pulled through the mud. Cameron, who is the owner of Trail

Rock Ordnance, made a new caisson and a new limber for the funeral at his Blaine, Tenn., shop. “Since I do this for a living making a new vehicle was not as big an effort as it sounds. It was probably about as much work as it would have been cleaning up a caisson and limber,” he said. Battery members spent an estimated 150 hours in preparation and execution, including a full-scale rehearsal on site with the horses. They cleaned and polished rolling stock and harness and enlisted the local 4H horse club to groom the horses. Cameron said, “The horses seemed to know they were doing something special and really gave their all.” The battery followed the procession commander, a major general, the band and honor guard. The procession ended with the Medal of Honor flag. The funeral ceremony included a missing man formation flyover, 21gun salute and Taps. “We were very honored to have a small part to honor Lieutenant Bonnyman, our hometown hero,” said Cameron. The battery has now participated in three military caisson funerals and offers its service to other veterans and enthusiasts as a means to support its rescued horses. The unit is always looking for cannoneers and drivers as well as farriers, blacksmiths, harness makers and artificers and people with big trucks willing to help transport them to events. Financial help is welcome to keep and maintain the horses. The non-profit unit’s website has a horse sponsorship program. Cameron can be reached at 865-932-1200, [email protected] and http://burroughsbattery.tripod.com/